A shooting occurred on Thursday at Florida State University in Tallahassee, resulting in the deaths of two people and the hospitalization of six others. Campus police stated that the deceased were not students, but their identities have not been made public. The alleged gunman was identified as 20-year-old FSU student Phoenix Ikner, Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil said. Mr Ikner also was shot by police and is in hospital.
Mr McNeil said he is the son of a Leon deputy and one of the guns found at the scene is a former service weapon purchased by the gunman’s mother, Jessica Ikner, a school resource office on the force for 18 years.
All classes at the university have been canceled until at least Friday, and weekend sports events have also been canceled. According to the university, a call about an active shooter came in around noon local time. An alert was issued soon after, warning students and those on campus to “seek shelter and await further instructions”.
Student Ava Arenado told CBS News Miami, “One of my classmates got an alert on her phone and announced it to the rest of the class.” Another student, Blake Leonard, told CBS that he initially heard roughly 12 shots fired.
He stated, “At first, in my head, I thought it was construction. Then I looked behind me and saw people running from the union in my direction. Then I heard another 12 or 15 shots go off, so I started running from there too.” Before meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House, President Donald Trump was asked if he wanted to change gun regulations in light of the shooting. He stated that he was informed of the situation. “I’m a big advocate of the Second Amendment. Since the beginning, I have been. I have protected it. These things are terrible,” he responded. “We will have additional information later.” He called the shooting “a shame, a horrible thing”.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”
This is not the first shooting at Florida State University. In 2015, a graduate of the school shot and injured three people at the library before he was fatally shot by police.