Two people are dead and six others injured following a mass shooting Thursday at Florida State University, where a 20-year-old student opened fire near the student union with a gun previously issued to his mother, a longtime sheriff’s deputy.
According to the Associated Press, the alleged shooter, identified as Phoenix Ikner, was critically wounded by responding officers after refusing to comply with commands. He is currently receiving medical treatment, Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell confirmed Thursday evening.
Authorities said Ikner is a current FSU student and the son of a Leon County Sheriff’s deputy. The weapon used in the attack was his mother’s former service handgun, which she had retained for personal use after the department upgraded its firearms. Sheriff Walt McNeil described the deputy as a model employee who has served for over 18 years and said Ikner had participated in several training programs through the sheriff’s youth advisory council.
“We are shocked and saddened,” McNeil said. “He has been steeped in the Leon County Sheriff’s Office family.”
The shooting occurred just outside the bustling student union shortly after noon, sending students and staff scrambling for safety—some hiding in a nearby bowling alley, others in a freight elevator inside the building. A lockdown was issued across campus and lifted later in the afternoon, but all classes and events were canceled for the rest of the week. FBI agents were seen on site Thursday.
Florida State University Police Chief Jason Trumbower said the two individuals killed were not students. Their identities have not yet been released.
Of the six injured, five were struck by gunfire and one was hurt while trying to flee, officials said. All were transported to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and are currently in fair condition, according to a hospital spokesperson.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear.
