Fri Apr 18 01:06:10 UTC 2025: **Florida State University Shooting Leaves Two Dead, Several Injured**
TALLAHASSEE, FL – A shooting at Florida State University on Thursday left two people dead and at least six injured. The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, a suspected student, was wounded by responding officers after he refused to comply with their commands.
Ikner allegedly used his mother’s former service weapon, a handgun she retained after her department upgraded its firearms. The mother, a long-serving Leon County Sheriff’s deputy, had reportedly been a model employee. Sheriff Walt McNeil noted Ikner’s involvement in the sheriff’s office youth advisory council and various training programs.
The shooting, which began around lunchtime near the student union, prompted a campus-wide lockdown and sent students and faculty scrambling for safety. Witnesses described seeing Ikner fire a handgun after a shotgun malfunctioned. Some sought refuge in a bowling alley and a service elevator within the student union building.
Tallahassee Memorial Hospital confirmed treating six shooting victims, one in critical condition. The deceased were not students, according to Florida State University Police Chief Jason Trumbower. Authorities have yet to release a motive for the attack.
President Donald Trump, after being briefed on the situation, offered condolences but did not indicate support for new gun legislation. Florida State University canceled classes for the remainder of the week and postponed home athletic events. The university has a history of campus violence, with a 2014 library shooting resulting in the death of the shooter and injuries to three others. The investigation is ongoing.
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