The Florida State University community wobbles and the police are looking for a reason after an armed man opened fire against the Tallahassee campus on Thursday, killing two and wounding six.
When the suspect, the 20 -year -old FSU student Phoenix Ikner was confronted by the responders, did not comply with the commands and was shot by the officers, authorities said. It is expected to survive, said the police of Tallahassee.
The Police investigate the scene of a shooting near the union of students at the State University of Florida on April 17, 2025 in Tallahassee, Florida.
Miguel J. Rodríguez Carrillo/Getty Images
The police have not identified the two murdered people, but said they were not students.
Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare said that two of the six wounded victims are expected to be discharged on Friday. Three patients have improved and are in good condition, while a victim remains in a fair state, said the hospital on Friday.
The students celebrate a vigil near the scene of a shooting near the Student Center of the Florida State University on April 17, 2025 in Tallahassee, Florida.
Miguel J. Rodríguez Carrillo/Getty Images
McKenzie Heeter, a 20 -year -old, told ABC News that he was just a few meters from the gunman when he shot a woman with bushes for the student union.
The shooter was “stirring a bigger rifle … and then took out the gun and shot that woman,” Heter said.
“His back was for him, he was just walking. I don’t even think he recorded what happened,” he said. “That is what I’m still thinking.”
Heeter described running through the campus in pure panic.
“I made a four -minute mile in sandals. I’ve never run so fast in my life,” he said. “I felt that I had to go, or otherwise it could be me below.”
The students celebrate a vigil near the scene of a shooting near the Student Center of the Florida State University on April 17, 2025 in Tallahassee, Florida.
Miguel J. Rodríguez Carrillo/Getty Images
The authorities revealed that the skeh of the suspect, Jessica Ikner, is current deputy of the local office of the Sheriff of the County of Leon. While the authorities identified Jessica Ikner as the mother of the suspect, the judicial documents indicate that she is her stepmother.
Phoenix Ikner had access to one of his stepmother’s personal weapons, which was one of the weapons found in the scene, said Sheriff Walter McNeil.
The suspect was also a “long -standing member” of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, McNeil said.
He was “committed to a series of training programs that we have,” said the Sheriff, added: “It is not a surprise for us who had access to weapons.”
The Police investigate the scene of a shooting near the union of students at the State University of Florida on April 17, 2025 in Tallahassee, Florida.
Miguel J. Rodríguez Carrillo/Getty Images
In a statement to the community of the Florida State University, President Richard McCullough described the shooting as an “act of tragic and meaningless violence.”
FSU has canceled sporting classes and events over the weekend. A vigil is scheduled for Friday at 5 pm
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has the “obligation to protect” the second amendment when an Oval office asked him if he sees something “broken” with the current weapons laws of the United States.
“Look, I am a great defender of the second amendment. I have been from the beginning. I protected it, and these things are terrible, but the weapon does not make the shooting. People do it. It is a phrase that is probably used too often,” Trump said.
“I will tell you that it is a shame,” he said about the shooting.
ABC News, Abubey and Fritz Farrow faith contributed to this report.
