News

Actions

Strozier Shooting Victim Suing Florida State

fsu shooting footage
Posted at 5:00 PM, Jul 19, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-19 17:00:00-04

TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- One of the people inside Strozier Library during the 2014 shooting is now suing the university.

The victim claims the university helped the other victims more than her.

Paige McPhadden was working at the front desk the night Myron May came in and shot up the library.

Though she wasn't wounded by May, she claims she was hurt by how the university failed to help her after the incident.

On November 20, 2014, May shot her coworker and turned the gun on her, but the gun failed to fire.

McPhadden filed complaints against the university in 2015 to the Florida Commission on Human Relations and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

She claimed she was not offered counseling -- and that other victims were treated more favorably than her, because of her race and sex.

In 2015, the university responded to those claims with emails and affidavits, showing McPhadden had as much opportunity to get help and seek treatment as the other victims.

Now working in the biology department, McPhadden says in the lawsuit that she's "under near constant, very public surveillance from her supervisor" and "has been subject to adverse employment terms and conditions...in retaliation for her filing discrimination charges."

She's suing the university and its board of trustees on eight counts, claiming they're responsible for "grievous lifelong injuries."

McPhadden says the police officer on duty at the library was "negligent" in how he handled the situation.

Florida State provided the following statement regarding the lawsuit:

"We cannot discuss details of pending litigation, but we can state that all of the library employees were provided with an abundance of services for as long as they needed them. The university will vigorously defend itself against this lawsuit."

McPhadden's attorney says his client is still traumatized by the shooting and insists that, because she wasn't white or a male, she didn't get the same treatment.