An e-mail sent at 11:49 p.m., a text message alert received by students at 11:50 p.m., and phone call made at 11:52 p.m. all include one glaring detail about last night’s off-campus shooting:

An at-large suspect.

The alert informed students of a shooting at the Irishmen Pub on N.W. 2nd Ave, which meant police officers and the people locked inside of Irishmen locked inside faced a long night. However, at 2:03 a.m., FAU sent out an additional alert phone call, telling students that the alleged shooting was in the general vicinity of Irishmen Pub, but not inside.

The alert also stated that the Boca Police have possible suspects in custody and that the 20th St. entrance is open again.
FAU students in Irishmen Pub during the shooting were somewhat oblivious to the October 18th shooting.

“I didn’t even realize something happened,” said Andres Beuses, FAU commercial music alumnus, who was inside Irishmen at 12:30 a.m. “I just saw the flashing lights at one point but even then I had no clue what happened until people started calling and texting me about it.”

Joel Guttman, junior urban designer major, was also at the Irishmen when the gunshots were fired.

“I walked outside with one of the bartenders and we saw at least 10 to 12 police cars. A red-haired male that was 25 to 29-years-old was being questioned and asked if he was okay by the police,” Guttman said. “He was sitting on the ground in front of the police car.”

Guttman described the male as responsive and said the paramedics were wheeling a gurney over to him. The police told Guttman and others outside of Irishmen Pub to go inside the bar and to not leave through the backdoor.

But Guttman did not know what had happened to this unidentified man.

“We assumed someone had been hit by a car or something there was no thought that someone was shot. We joked that, ‘maybe the Boca police is hanging out’,” Guttman said. “It was loud tonight so we couldn’t hear a gunshot if we tried.”

Guttman left Irishmen through the patio door five to 10 minutes after the police told them to go inside.

FAU student Ralph Landau, was in his apartment behind the Irishmen, with only a wall between the two, when the gunshots went off.

“I thought it was a car backfiring. But then I got the alert from FAU. I locked my door, turned out the lights, and decided to go my friend’s house that’s a little safer,” Landau said, adding that he called his girlfriend to tell her that he was okay.
His call took place around 11:50 p.m., as Landau was leaving his apartment. His neighbor, who works as a cook at Irishmen, was sitting outside. The two spoke about the FAU alert Landau had received, but his neighbor had a different insight on the shooting.

“He told me ‘it wasn’t at the Irishmen, it was across the street,’” said Landau. “But Joel and everyone else that was there says it was, so I don’t know what to believe.”

At 12:19 a.m. the Irishmen posted a Facebook status informing patrons about the shooting.

“Please note there was no incident at The Irishmen tonight October 18. The Mass text message sent by FAU Police was in error and a retraction with be sent shortly. Thank you for your understanding with this troubling matter.”

Residents living on campus at Innovation Village Apartments noticed the abnormal amount of cop cars on 20th Street when they were returning from Publix at 12:17 a.m.

“There were like 20 cop cars on 20th. You couldn’t leave campus going on 20th, but you could come back on,” said Marissa Milligan, sophomore education major. Police shut down 20th street from 11:52 p.m. until 2:04 a.m., according to FAU alerts. Boca Police are still investigating a shooting near the Boca campus.

[Check this story as we continue to learn more and update it.]