A gunman opened fire at Florida State University on Thursday, killing two people and wounding several others.
Police identified the suspect as Phoenix Ikner, 20, the stepson of a sheriff’s deputy and a possible FSU student.
Here’s what we know about the shooting, the suspect, the victims and how it unfolded.
Where and when did the shooting happen?
The shooter got out of an orange Hummer and opened fire near the student union at 11:50 a.m., police and witnesses have said.
FSU Police Chief Jason Trumbower said he shot multiple people before officers were able to engage, neutralize and apprehend him.
Were there any victims?
Two people were killed. Six others were injured, with at least five being treated for gunshot wounds in hospitals.
One of the victims was identified Friday as 57-year-old Robert Morales. Morales was working as FSU’s dining coordinator and worked in the student union center.
Tiru Chabba, a 45-year-old father of two, was also killed in the shooting, his family said. The Greenville, South Carolina, man was on the campus Thursday working for campus vendor when he was shot.
“Tiru Chabba’s family is going through the unimaginable now,” a lawyer for the family, Bakari Sellers, said. “Instead of hiding Easter eggs and visiting with friends and family, they’re living a nightmare where this loving father and devoted husband was stolen from them in an act of senseless and preventable violence.”
All six patients wounded during the shooting were in stable condition upon arrival and three of them required surgery, according to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. The healthcare system said two of the patients may be discharged on Friday, three have improved and are in good condition and one is in fair condition with a serious injury. All are expected to make a full recovery.
The suspect was also wounded.
In a statement Thursday night, Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said an eighth person was injured while attempting to run away from the shooting scene. It was unclear whether that person was taken to the hospital.
Who is the suspect?
Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil identified the suspect Thursday as Phoenix Ikner, 20.
Ikner is the stepson of a sheriff’s deputy, McNeil said, and a student at FSU. There does not appear to be any connection between Ikner and any of the victims, Revell said on Friday.
Ikner was a member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office’s Youth Advisory Council, which made it unsurprising that he had access to weapons, McNeil said.
McKenzie Heeter, a junior at FSU who witnessed the shooting, described him as a “normal college dude.”
The suspect was hospitalized with unspecified injuries, police said Thursday. His injuries were serious but non-life-threatening, Revell said. Ikner is still in the hospital receiving treatment as of Friday, and "will require a significant amount of time in that facility," Revell said.
"Once he is released from that facility, he’ll be taken to a local detention facility where he will face the charges up to and including first-degree murder," Revell said.
Reid Seybold, a classmate of Ikner’s, said they were in a political discussion group together when they attended Tallahassee State College. Seybold, the group’s president, said he had to ask Ikner not to return to the club because of his white supremacist views.
What kind of gun was used?
Officials said a gun that belonged to the suspect’s stepmother was found at the scene.
It was a former service weapon, which she had purchased and owned, authorities said.
Police said the shooter had a shotgun with him but could not confirm whether it was used.
Is there a motive?
Police have not yet identified a motive.
“I don’t know why he would have done something like this,” said Seybold, the former classmate. “I don’t know where it would have come from, but I’d sure like to find out.”
