ARTICLE LAST UPDATED 4/18/25:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., — At least two people died and six others were injured during an active shooter situation at Florida State University (FSU) on Thursday. The deceased victims were male non-students but their identities have not been released. Five of the injured victims were shot and hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. A sixth victim was hurt while fleeing.
The shooting occurred just before noon near the university’s student union. The suspect has been identified as FSU student Phoenix Ikner, the 20-year-old stepson of Jessica Ikner, a Leon County Sheriff’s deputy who is also a school resource officer. According to a news conference from local law enforcement, Ikner used his stepmother’s former service handgun, which she had kept for personal use after the force upgraded to new weapons.
“Her service to this community has been exceptional,” said Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil. “Unfortunately, her son had access to one of her weapons and that was one of the weapons that was found at the scene. And we are continuing that investigation into how that weapon was used.”
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the campus shooting. Officers shot the suspect when he did not comply with their demands. The suspect reportedly did not fire at responding officers. He was apprehended by officers and hospitalized with “serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” according to Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.
Witness: FSU Shooter’s Shotgun Jammed
Witness Aidan Stickney, a 21-year-old FSU student, told AP that he saw a man get out of a car with a shotgun and aim it at another man. The gun jammed, Stickney said, and the shooter rushed back to his car and emerged with a handgun, opening fire on a woman.
After the shots were fired, FSU’s emergency notification system alerted those on campus to take immediate precautions, urging everyone to shelter in place, lock doors and windows, and remain vigilant. The lockdown lasted for several hours.
Related Article: Preventing Active Shooter Incidents Through Student Behavior Analysis
Many students promptly evacuated the campus while others sought safety indoors. Social media posts on X (formerly Twitter) shared images of the school’s lawn, showing abandoned shoes, laptops, and food left behind in the rush to escape. Others who were not on campus were told to avoid the area.
All classes and campus events on Friday have been cancelled. A vigil is scheduled for 5 p.m. at FSU’s Langford Green.
FSU Shooter Participated in Sheriff’s Training Programs, Had Mental Health Issues
Ikner was a longstanding member of the sheriff’s office’s Youth Advisory Council, according to McNeil.
“He has been steeped in the Leon County Sheriff’s Office family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have,” he said. “So it’s no surprise to us that he had access to weapons.”
Ikner, who was born Christian Gunnar Eriksen but changed his name to Phoenix Ikner in 2020, was previously at the center of a custody battle in March 2015. In violation of a child custody order, his biological mother, Anne-Mari Eriksen, kidnapped her then-11-year-old son and took him to Norway, ABC News reports.
According to an affidavit, Ikner was “on medication for several health and mental issues, to include a growth hormone disorder and ADHD.”
“Mr. Ikner advised that Christian has developmental delays and has special needs which he feared would not be taken care of without access to his doctors here in the United States,” the affidavit continued.
The boy was eventually brought back to the U.S. several months later and his mother was arrested at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in July 2015. She pleaded no contest to illegally removing a child from Florida.
In Oct. 2015, Anne-Mari Eriksen filed a lawsuit against Ikner’s father and stepmother, alleging slander and libel on behalf of herself and her son.
“The emotional and psychological harm done to the minor child will be evident for years, and will require counseling, and given the child being the age of 11, will have memory impacted by the behaviors of all the defendants for the false claims done on his mother, and for the parental alienation of the close relationship of the minor child,” the lawsuit alleged.
The lawsuit sought more than $80,000 in damages to use towards the suspect’s college fund. A judge dismissed the case seven months later.
