More details are emerging Friday about Florida State University shooting suspect Phoenix Ikner as law enforcement are trying to piece together what motivated the 20-year-old student to allegedly open fire at his school, killing two and wounding six.
Ikner was shot and wounded by responding officers Thursday afternoon after he refused to comply with commands, according to Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell. Police also said his mother is a sheriff’s deputy with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and that they believe Ikner shot the victims using his mother’s former service handgun, which she had kept for personal use after the force upgraded to new weapons.
Months before the shooting, Ikner was quoted in an FSU student newspaper article about anti-Trump protests at the school and was identified as a political science major, according to WFLA.
“These people are usually pretty entertaining, usually not for good reasons. I think it’s a little too late, he’s [Trump] already going to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 and there’s not really much you can do unless you outright revolt, and I don’t think anyone wants that,” Ikner was quoted by the station as saying.
The article was later updated to say “An earlier version of this article included a quote from the gunman in the April 17 shooting at FSU and was removed at the decision of our editors to maintain ethical journalistic standards and avoid amplifying the voice of an individual responsible for violence.”
Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil also said Ikner “has been steeped in the Leon County Sheriff’s Office family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have,” according to The Associated Press. “So it’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons.”
Ikner was a long-standing member of the sheriff’s office’s youth advisory council, he continued.
On its website, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office said its Youth Advisory Council “provides Leon County’s young people with an active role in addressing youth issues.”
“It is the undertaking of the YAC to advise the Sheriff, reach out to Leon County teens, inform them of existing opportunities, and listen to suggestions on what the Sheriff’s Office can do to improve its youth-oriented efforts,” the website said, noting that the group is tasked with identifying and discussing “issues youth are facing … in our county.”
Five people who were wounded in the mass shooting were struck by gunfire, while a sixth was hurt while trying to run away, Revell said in a statement Thursday night. Ikner was in the hospital with “serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” according to Revell.
On Friday morning, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said two patients are expected to be discharged later today, while “Three have improved and are in good condition” and “One remains in fair condition.”
Aidan Stickney, a 21-year-old studying business management, told the AP he was running late to class on Thursday when he said he saw a man get out of a car with a shotgun and aim at another man in a white polo shirt.
The gun jammed, Stickney said, and the shooter rushed back to his car and emerged with a handgun, opening fire on a woman. Stickney ran, warning others as he called 911.
“I got lucky today. I really did. I really, really did,” he said.
The suspect’s mother, Jessica Ikner, has been an officer for over 18 years and authorities said she has done a “tremendous job” in her position.
“Her service to this community has been exceptional,” McNeil said at a press conference. “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.”
The two people who were killed were not FSU students, according to authorities, who believe that the suspect acted alone.
FSU has canceled all classes through Friday and said athletic events in Tallahassee were canceled through the weekend.
“The university will hold a vigil for the victims at 5 p.m. Friday, April 18, at Langford Green in front of the Unconquered Statue,” it said.
University President Richard McCullough issued a statement on X, calling Thursday’s shooting “a tragic and senseless act of violence.”
