TALLAHASSEE—A 20-year-old shooter opened fire at Florida State University at 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, leaving two dead and six wounded, including the gunman.
Phoenix Ikner, an FSU student, used a handgun to shoot in the vicinity of the college's Student Union building, a three-level study hub for the university's over 6,000 faculty and tens of thousands of students, police said at a Thursday afternoon press conference.
Law enforcement rapidly "engaged, neutralized, and apprehended" him, said FSU Police Chief Jason Trombower, noting that local, state, and federal officials were involved. Ikner has since been transported to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, along with the 5 other wounded.
The two deceased were not FSU students or law enforcement, though it's unclear if they were faculty, staff, or prospective students touring the campus.
Ikner, a "long-standing member" of the Leon County Sheriff's Office Youth Advisory Council, is also the son of Sheriff's Deputy Jessica Ikner, an officer who's been with the department for over 18 years and currently serves as a school resource officer at Tallahassee's Raa Middle School.
"Unfortunately, her son had access to one of her weapons, and that was one of the weapons that was found at the scene," said Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil. "The shooter...had been engaged in a number of training programs, so it's not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons."
Ikner had previously been interviewed by the college paper during students' pro-Palestine protests.
On the Scene:
FSU students left in a hurry when they heard the gunshots.
Sunbathers and studiers on the popular Landis Green, enjoying one of the first sunnily cloudless days of the year, picked up and left a desolately juxtaposed scene behind them: a beautiful day on the manicured lawn, adorned with expensive iPads, backpacks, and shoes.
But no people; just a swamping silence that spoke volumes.
Beach towels, strewn out by hopeful tanners, were slightly ruffled. By the warm breeze or a quick getaway, it was strangely hard to tell.
WUSF reported that one freshman student, 19-year-old Ana Martins, had just sat down to tan, FaceTiming her mom in Orlando, when students began to scream. She fled barefoot, taking cover in the storage room of a nearby church for hours.
Four other students who spoke to The Floridian, all of whom asked that their names not be used, described hearing multiple gunshots as they hid in neighboring buildings. One described their experience breathlessly barricaded in a next-door classroom, listening to officers yell that "people are down."
Across from the Student Union, a bench filled with First Aid supplies tells its own story. Hurriedly ripped open bandages and forgotten bloody gauze litter the ground.
Students both on campus and around the college town wore the pain on their faces—but in different ways.
One couple embraced on a street corner, hugging each other tightly as cars whisked by. Others floated past, quiet and staring at nothing. A girl, tears streaking her blotchy cheeks, walked quickly and awkwardly by as she desperately dialed someone's number.
Who was she calling?
Amid the still chaos, a hawk circled low. Some Native American cultures, like the Cheyenne, see hawks as a protector spirit—and a warning of danger.
