Florida State University shooting: 2 confirmed dead, 6 others wounded
- Law enforcement respond to a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., on Thursday. (Alicia Devine/USA Today Network/Imagn Images via Reuters)
Two people were killed and at least six others were wounded on Thursday in a mass shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., officials said.
The shooter was identified as Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old whose mother is a Leon County Sheriff’s deputy. Authorities said a former service weapon that belonged to his mother was recovered at the scene. She was allowed to purchase her former service weapon for personal use, officials said.
READ ALSO: Cashcraft and CBEX: Two of a kind in Ponzi netherworld
Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil said Ikner was a member of the Sheriff’s Office Youth Advisory Council who was “engaged in a number of training programs.” McNeil said it wasn’t a surprise that he had access to weapons having been “steep” in the Leon County Sheriff’s Office family.
Tallahassee Police Department Chief Lawrence E. Revell said the gunman “did not comply with commands and was shot” and also “invoked his right not to speak to us.” Police believe Ikner is also an FSU student who acted alone.
The sprawling campus was placed on lockdown for several hours before the school announced that law enforcement had “neutralized the threat.”
In a post on X, the Tallahassee Police said that the campus had been secured, but that multiple law enforcement agencies would remain at the scene. The FBI in Tallahassee said its agents were assisting local law enforcement in its investigation.
Shortly after noon, the school issued an alert that said an active shooter was reported in the area of the student union, asking students to shelter in place.
“Lock and stay away from all doors and windows and be prepared to take additional protective measures,” the alert read.
The university sent out subsequent alerts telling students to continue to shelter in place.
“Law enforcement is actively clearing rooms on the main campus,” one of the alerts read. “Law enforcement officers will use the safe word SEMINOLE to confirm it is safe to open the door. Continue to shelter in place until law enforcement contacts you.”
Hours later, FSU issued an alert saying that “law enforcement has neutralized the threat.” Students were advised to avoid numerous buildings near the student union as they were “still considered an active crime scene.”
