FSU Mass Shooting: 2 Killed, 6 Injured; Suspect Taken into Custody

According to statements made by law enforcement officials during a press conference, an active shooter opened fire on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee on Thursday, resulting in the deaths of two individuals and the injuries of six others. A nearby hospital received both the injured victims and the person who is accused of carrying out the shooting.

The alleged shooter has been named as Phoenix Ikner, a student at Florida State University who is twenty years old and the son of a sheriff’s officer in Leon County, according to the statement made by Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil at the briefing.

The suspect was brought into custody by the police after being shot by them, according to the officials, who also stated that he exercised his right to remain silent with the authorities.

The investigators believe that the suspect used the handgun that was discovered at the scene, which was his mother’s previous service firearm and which she now owns and uses as a personal handgun. Furthermore, it was said that he was equipped with a shotgun.

After further investigation, CBS News discovered that the sheriff’s deputy is the suspect’s stepmother, and that his biological parents had been involved in a custody battle that had lasted for years, beginning in 2007 and continuing until 2023.

According to the sheriff, the sheriff’s deputy has been working for the department for more than 18 years, and she has provided great service to the community over that timeline. It is unfortunate that her kid was able to get his hands on one of her weapons, according to Sheriff McNeil. In addition, he stated that the individual who is suspected of carrying out the shooting was a long-time member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office citizen advisory or youth advisory council and participated in a number of the training programs that they offer. He was claimed to have “been steeped in the family of the Leon County Sheriff Office,” according to the sheriff.

Neither of the two victims who were murdered in the incident were students, according to the police. However, the names of the victims have not been made public.

Despite the fact that many law enforcement agencies are still present at the location for the ongoing investigation, the Tallahassee police department said at approximately 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time that the campus had been secured. “Law enforcement has neutralised the threat,” the Florida State University tweeted. The student union and many other buildings on campus should be avoided, according to the university, “because they are still considered to be active crime scenes.”

According to FSU, at approximately 12:01 p.m., police responded to a complaint about an active shooter that originated from the vicinity of the student union. Afterwards, the police stated that the shooter began firing at approximately 11:50 a.m. The institution issued a warning to people who were present on campus, advising them to “seek shelter and await further instructions.” Additionally, the institution advised students to secure all doors and windows and to avoid entering the building at all times.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Hospital is providing medical care to those who have been injured, according to a spokesman for the hospital who talked with CBS News Miami. As of approximately 4:30 p.m., the hospital reported that all of the patients were in a decent condition.

A horrifying scene was reported by Ava Arenado, a student at Florida State University who was present in class when the university alarm was sent.

The following is what Arenado shared : “One of my classmates received a notification on her phone and shared it with the rest of the class.” Within a short period of time, my instructor began to barricade the door… Then, another girl expressed that she would rather go home, and we all kind of hurried to our cars in response to her statement.

An FSU student named Blake Leonard reported that he heard approximately thirty bullets fired in total. According to Leonard, he was approximately 400 feet away from the student union when he reported hearing gunfire and immediately began to flee.

I heard approximately twelve bullets go off. Initially, I was under the impression that it was construction. However, as I turned around and looked behind me, I noticed that people were running from the union in the direction of me. After that, I heard another 12 or 15 bullets go off, and I began to run away from that location as well,” he explained.

His post read, “Our prayers are with our FSU family.” Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, said.

There were agents from the FBI and the ATF present at the scene to provide assistance to the local law enforcement.

Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary for the White House, stated that President Trump has been briefed on the shooting, and that Mr. Trump made some brief statements about it when it occurred on Thursday afternoon.

It’s a terrible thing. That is a terrible thing to do. It’s a terrible thing. There are occurrences similar to this one. When asked about it, Mr. Trump stated, “And we’ll have more to say about it later.”

When the president was asked subsequently if he would look into the possibility of changing gun regulations in light of the shooting, he responded, “Well, I’m going to have to look into it.” A strong supporter of the Second Amendment is someone like me… The things in question are dreadful. The humans are the ones who are responsible for the shooting, not the gun.

Classes and all other events were cancelled through Friday, according to the institution, and athletic events were cancelled through Sunday because of the weather.

There has been a shooting at the school on multiple occasions, including the one that occurred on Thursday. In 2014, the library of the university was the location of three shootings, which occurred before the perpetrator, a former student, was shot by law enforcement.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been eighty mass shootings conducted in the United States of America thus far in the year 2025. The most recent of these massacres took place at Florida State University. One little bit more than five instances occur each and every week. The total number of occurrences that occurred in 2024 was 502, which is equivalent to a little less than ten incidents per week.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, a mass shooting is defined as an occurrence in which four or more individuals are shot or killed, excluding the person who carried out the shooting.