Suspect in custody in deadly Florida State University shooting

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The 20-year-old son of a sheriff’s deputy opened fire Thursday at Florida State University with his mother’s former service weapon, killing two people and wounding at least six others, investigators said.

Officers quickly arrived and shot and wounded the shooter after he refused to comply with commands, said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.

Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the shooting, which began around lunchtime just outside the student union, sending students and frightened parents hiding for cover in a bowling alley and a freight elevator inside the building.

The shooter, identified by police as Phoenix Ikner, is believed to be a Florida State student, investigators said.

He had obtained access to a weapon that belongs to his mother, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office for over 18 years, said Walt McNeil, sheriff of Leon County. Police said they believed Ikner shot the victims using his mother’s former service handgun.

The two people who died were not students at the university, said Florida State University Police Chief Jason Trumbower, adding that he would not release additional information about the victims.

Tallahassee Memorial Hospital confirmed it was treating six patients wounded from in the shooting, one in critical condition.

Ambulances, firetrucks and patrol vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies raced toward the campus that sits just west of Florida’s state capital after the university issued an active shooter alert midday Thursday, saying police were responding near the student union.

Ryan Cedergren, a 21-year-old communications student, said he and about 30 others hid in the bowling alley in the lower level of the student union after seeing students running from a nearby bar.

“In that moment, it was survival,” he said.

After about 15 minutes of hiding, university police escorted the students out of the union and he saw a person getting emergency treatment on the lawn, he said.

Hundreds of students streamed away from the student union. Some were glued to their phones while others hugged one another. Dozens gathered near the music school waiting for news.

Junior Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the university’s main library when he said alarms began going off warning of an active shooter. Law enforcement officers escorted him and other students from the library with their hands over their heads, he said.

President Trump said from the Oval Office that he had been fully briefed on the shooting. “It’s a horrible thing. It’s horrible that things like this takes place,” he said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on X: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”

Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi said in a social media post that the Justice Department was in touch with FBI agents who were on the scene.

Florida State University is one of Florida’s 12 public universities, with its main campus in Tallahassee. About 44,000 students are enrolled in the university, per the school’s 2024 fact sheet.

Back in 2014, the main library was the site of a shooting that wounded three people. Officers shot and killed the gunman, 31-year-old Myron May.

Payne and Fischer write for the Associated Press. AP reporters Stephany Matat in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Fla.; and Mike Balsamo in New York contributed to this report.