The 20-year-old who allegedly opened fire on the Florida State University (FSU) campus had been prescribed medication for “emotional dysregulation”; it is unclear whether he had stopped taking medication at the time of the shooting.
CNN reported that he “suffered from emotional dysregulation,” but noted that family members indicated “he had stopped taking some of the prescribed medication.”
The Cleveland Clinic says:
Emotional dysregulation isa brain-related symptom that means you have trouble managing your feelings and emotions. It’s often a sign of conditions that affect your brain or differences in how your brain developed or works today. It’s usually not a serious condition except when severe. Many of the causes are treatable.
Breitbart News reported that the 20-year-old allegedly shot and killed two people and wounded six others April 17, 2025, on the FSU campus. He allegedly brought a handgun and a shotgun on campus for the attack. The handgun belonged to his mother, who is a Leon County Sheriff’s deputy.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly:
