TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The son of a Leon County Sheriff’s deputy killed two people at Florida State University and wounded six others on Thursday after gaining access to his mother’s handgun and going on a campus rampage, police said.
The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, was shot by officers and taken into custody before being transported to the hospital, according to police. He is believed to be an FSU student. His mother was assigned by the sheriff’s office to protect a local public school.
Police did not immediately release the names of the victims, six of whom were being treated in the hospital for their wounds. Authorities said during a Thursday afternoon press conference that the two people killed did not attend the school as students.
Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell did not give a motive for the shooting. But Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil said the sheriff’s office knew the shooter well, as he was a member of the agency’s Youth Advisory Council.
“He has been steep in the Leon County Sheriff’s family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have ... so it’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons,” McNeil said.
The attack, which rattled students and sent police scrambling to the university’s Tallahassee campus, took place around noon. Police swarmed the university’s Tallahassee campus with guns drawn, responding to reports of gunfire near the student union. Students hid in classrooms and in the library.
A video recorded from behind bushes and shared with the Miami Herald by an FSU student showed an armed person striding calmly on the sidewalk, squaring up and taking at least three shots as people ran and screamed.
Near the shooting location, laptops, towels, backpacks and bottles of water were scattered in a grassy area, abandoned in a moment of panic.
“Everyone was running,” said 19-year-old freshman Raiden Paniagua, who was eating Chick-fil-A on a campus lawn when the mayhem began. “I was so scared.”
By 3:17 p.m., Tallahassee Police said they’d secured the campus, but were continuing to treat the student union and surrounding area as a crime scene. A Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare spokeswoman said six people were being treated in the hospital, one in critical condition.
News of the shooting reverberated in the Florida Capitol, which was briefly put on lockdown, and reached all the way to Washington.
“It’s horrible that things like this take place,” said President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters Thursday from the Oval Office.
‘Everyone’s angry’
Reports of a shooting on campus first emerged at 12:02 p.m. over the school’s emergency alert system.
“Continue to seek shelter and await further instructions,” the university told students. “Lock and stay away from all doors and windows and be prepared to take additional protective measures.”
On campus, FSU student Victor Alonso, 19, was in his government class inside the HCB Classroom Building next to the student union when his phone lit up with alerts.
He read the message: an active shooter was on campus. “There’s no way,” he thought.
Moments later, panic broke out in his classroom. Alonso and other students scrambled to barricade the doors. He heard gunshots, followed by helicopters circling overhead.
Officers soon arrived at the door, shouting commands. “They made us go down the hall with our hands up,” Alonso told the Herald in an interview from his dorm room.
He said law enforcement kept relocating them across campus.
“They ended up evacuating us like four or five times to different buildings,” he said.
At one point, he sheltered in what he described as an AC repair unit, later huddling in a courtyard. He was finally allowed to return to his dorm about two hours after the initial alert.
“Everyone’s angry,” Alonso said. “I just don’t know how this can happen — it’s disgusting.”
Raeleen McDaniel, 26, was in a classroom watching a video about Korean history when she heard the gunshots.
“At first we thought it was the video, but then we realized it was real shots,” McDaniel said in an interview with the Herald.
McDaniel recalled seeing students running in the hallway and dropping down to the floor. Her classroom was located near the student union.
“People go there to study,” she said, visibly distraught as a friend comforted her. About two hours had passed since the shooting had been reported, and what had occurred was still sinking in.
“I knew that a shooting was something that was possible because it is so common, but I never thought it would happen to us,” she said.
Local and state police rushed to the scene, as well as agents from the FBI’s Jacksonville office.
Videos posted to social media shortly after the shooting was first reported showed students walking with their hands raised, and officers running with guns drawn. Later, videos showed police calmly directing students about where they could and couldn’t go on campus.
In the wake of the shooting, officers searched the campus, clearing rooms, using the word “Seminole” to let students know that it was safe to come out from hiding. Tallahassee Police told students to contact their families. They were offered rides to the The Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, which was set up as a family reunification center.
Classes for the rest of the week were canceled.
Details released by police
The handgun used during the shooting was the former service weapon of his mother, who was allowed to buy the weapon for her personal use, police said. The 20-year-old was also in possession of a shotgun, police confirmed.
“We have not confirmed anyone was shot with a shotgun but that could change,” FSU Police Chief Jason Trumbower said. At this point in the investigation, Trumbower said he did not believe the shotgun had been used.
McNeil said the sheriff’s deputy has not been suspended, but added that there would be a thorough investigation into the matter.
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