2 dead, 6 injured, suspect in custody after Florida State University shooting

Two men were killed in the shooting, and six people were wounded, Tallahassee Police said in a statement Thursday night.

Chief Lawrence Revell did not identify the deceased, but said on top of the five injured victims previously reported, another person was hit by gunfire while trying to run away.

The suspect, 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, remains hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

"Our hearts are with the victims, families, students, and larger Florida State University community in the wake of this tragedy. What occurred today was a heinous and despicable act of violence," Revell said.

FSU will hold a vigil Friday for the victims of the shooting.

The university posted on X that the vigil will begin at 5 p.m. at Langford Green in front of the Unconquered Statue.

A support center was also established for students and other community members to provide counseling and other services for those impacted.

Updates on services and other resources will be at alerts.fsu.edu.

SUPPORT CENTER HOURS, VIGIL SET FOR APRIL 18

SUPPORT CENTER OPEN FRIDAY, APRIL 18
The university will open a Support Center at the Askew Student Life Center from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, April 18. Counseling and Victim’s Advocate services will be available, and staff will be on… pic.twitter.com/p3sQ00F3VM

— Florida State University (@FloridaState) April 18, 2025

As dusk fell Thursday, students walked the grounds of Florida State University, taking in the sight of their campus now rendered a crime scene ringed with investigators’ yellow tape. Several students sat silently before a small memorial of candles and flowers near the student union.

Tables that had been set up to plug local apartment complexes and cannabis dispensaries sat abandoned along a tree-lined walkway outside the brick building, close to the scene of the midday shooting.

Also left behind in the apparent scramble for safety: a pair of sandals, a half-full Starbucks matcha latte, notes from a chemistry class scattered across the ground.

The current president of Tallahassee State College's political discourse club said the suspected shooter had been attending group meetings as recently as last semester, often sharing far-right views that made others uncomfortable.

Riley Pusins said that at meetings, the suspect advocated for President Donald Trump's agenda and often promoted white supremacist values, even though the club was nonpartisan and was about debate and political discourse.

Pusins said many people in the club had labeled the suspect a fascist.

The 20-year-old suspect went to meetings almost every Thursday, Pusins said, and after the meetings, he often made more "inappropriate" comments.

He would "go up to the line" in the meeting and then cross the line in comments made after the fact, Pusins said.

The suspect in the FSU shooting espoused white supremacist views and was removed from a political club, the group's president, Reid Seybold, said.

Seybold said he was part of a club with the suspect at Tallahassee State College, where they both attended before transferring to FSU. He was president of a club called "political round table," where the suspect was asked not to return after repeated issues with the suspect's rhetoric.

"Basically our only rule was no Nazis — colloquially speaking — and he espoused so much white supremacist rhetoric, and far-right rhetoric as well, to the point where we had to exercise that role," Seybold said.

Seybold, now a senior at FSU, was in the Bellamy Building nearby the Student Union when he and others heard gunshots.

Manuel Oliver – a parent who's been an advocate for gun reform since his son, Joaquin, died in the 2018 Parkland mass shooting – said he is "not surprised" about the events at FSU.

"I feel terrible, not surprised, but very sad. I know how some parents are feeling right now, but again, it's not a surprise," he said.

Oliver and his wife are founders of Change the Ref, a nonprofit that raises awareness of gun violence and gun control.

"Nothing is going to change if we don't act in a different way, and we have not acted in a different way yet," he said.

A Tallahassee Police Department patrol car was stationed Thursday evening near the street where the suspected Florida State University shooter’s family lives, blocking reporters from approaching the home in a well-kept suburban neighborhood on the city’s east side.

FSU president Richard McCullough says he has visited some of the wounded students in the hospital.

McCullough also called the campus police officers “absolute heroes” and says their response to the shooting “prevented this from being a bigger tragedy.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a message posted on social media that “we are all Seminoles today. We stand by to help in any way that we can.”

All six patients wounded during the shooting are in fair condition, according to an update from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. The hospital said earlier Thursday that one of those wounded was in critical condition.

The alleged shooter is among the wounded, having been shot by arriving officers after refusing to comply with commands, officials said.

Two people who were not FSU students died in the shooting. FSU Police Chief Jason Trumbower says he will not be releasing additional information about the victims.

A witness to the shooting at Florida State University said he saw the suspect's shotgun jam.

Aidan Stickney, a 21-year-old studying business management, says he was running late to class when he saw a man get out of a car with a shotgun and aim at another man in a white polo shirt.

Stickney says the gun jammed and the shooter rushed back to the 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 says.

University Police Chief Trumbower says investigators have no evidence that anyone was shot with the shotgun.

Florida State President Richard McCullough said the university is "heartbroken" after the deadly campus shooting Thursday.

"We are heartbroken. We are grieving with the families, friends, and loved ones of those who were lost. We are holding close those who are injured, and we are standing by everyone who is hurting," McCullough said in a post on X.

He added that the university is working to provide mental health services to all who want it.

"Right now, our focus is on taking care of people. That means the victims and their families. It means students, faculty, and staff who were nearby and are now trying to make sense of what they experienced. And it means every person in our campus community who is feeling shaken or overwhelmed," he said.

Dear FSU community,

Today, we experienced a tragic and senseless act of violence at the heart of our campus.

At lunchtime, an active shooter opened fire at the Student Union. Two were killed. Six others were injured.

We are heartbroken. We are grieving with the families,…

— FSU President Richard McCullough (@PresMcCullough) April 17, 2025

Students and staff at FSU sheltered in place today as the campus went into lockdown.

One photo shows chairs and desks stacked in front of a campus classroom door.

The stack was likely assembled to serve as a blockade that was hastily put together in an effort to keep the shooter at bay.

The interim president of the University of Florida reacted to Thursday's shooting at Florida State University.

"I join everyone at the University of Florida in sending our most caring thoughts and deepest sympathies to the Florida State University family," Kent Fuchs wrote on X. "Our hearts go out to everyone who has been affected by the shootings and their loved ones."

I join everyone at the University of Florida in sending our most caring thoughts and deepest sympathies to the Florida State University family. Our hearts go out to everyone who has been affected by the shootings and their loved ones.

— Kent Fuchs (@PrezKentFuchs) April 17, 2025

The 20-year-old son of a sheriff’s deputy opened fire Thursday at Florida State University with his mother’s former service weapon, killing two people and wounding at least six others, investigators said.

Officers quickly arrived and shot and wounded the shooter after he refused to comply with commands, said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.

Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the shooting, which began around lunch time just outside the student union, sending students and frightened parents hiding for cover in a bowling alley and a freight elevator inside the building.

The shooter, identified by police as Phoenix Ikner, is believed to be a Florida State student, investigators said.

He had obtained access to a weapon that belongs to his mother, who has been with the sheriff’s office for over 18 years, said Walt McNeil, Sheriff of Leon County. Police said they believed Ikner shot the victims using his mother's former service handgun.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis posted a video on X about the Florida State Shooting Thursday evening, saying he and First Lady Casey DeSantis are praying for the FSU community.

"Casey and I stand in solidarity and are praying for the entire Florida State community. We are mourning the two individuals who lost their lives in this tragic attack, and we wish well those who are currently recovering in the hospital," DeSantis said in the video. "This killer must and will be brought to justice to the fullest extent of the law."

DeSantis also thanked law enforcement who responded to the scene.

"They ran towards the danger, they stopped this killer from inflicting more harm and there's no question that they saved lives," he said.

We stand with Florida State University. Today, we are all Seminoles. pic.twitter.com/dUMW3eL48r

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 17, 2025

The suspect is the 20-year-old son of a current sheriff's deputy who had access to one of her weapons, according to Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil.

He was identified as Phoenix Ikner.

McNeil said it was not a surprise that the suspect had access to weapons as he was a member of the sheriff's office citizen advisory or Youth Advisory Council. Officials said the suspect's mother purchased one of her former service weapons and it was her personal property at the time of the shooting.

"This event is tragic in more ways than you people in the audience could ever fathom from a law enforcement perspective," McNeil said. "But I will tell you this, we will make sure that we do everything we can to prosecute and make sure that we send a message to folks that this will never be tolerated here in Leon County, and I dare say, across this state and across this nation."

Two people are dead and five others were injured after a shooting at Florida State University on Thursday, police said.

FSU Police Chief Jason Trumbower said the shooting unfolded shortly before noon near the student union.

Police responded and engaged the shooter, but not before he killed two people and injured five others, Trumbower said.

The shooter, believed to be a student, was also hospitalized. The two people killed were not students, Trumbower said.

FSU freshman Maya Cabal had just clocked in to her shift at the campus gym when she heard the code for active threat over the staff's walkie talkies, she told NBC News.

Everyone was ushered into the locker rooms, where they stayed until the university provided buses to get to the campus civic center, Cabal recalled. She described the situation as "unacceptable" and urged for more policies to be put in place to prevent such violence.

"I just think that this happens way too much in America," Cabal said. "We need to do something about it, it just can't keep happening. Like, no one should just think that they're going to school in a normal day, then ... their lives are in danger because there are not enough regulations in place."

Matthew Ontari, a sophomore, was in a building across from the student union when gunshots rang out, and sheltered in place alongside other students for around an hour before police evacuated them. He said it was "insane" to him that guns are so easily accessed in the U.S. when other countries make it much more difficult to possess guns.

"This is the only country where this regularly happens," Ontari said. "And every time it happens, we hear there's nothing that can be done about it."

The Florida State University campus has been secured, Tallahassee Police announced on X Thursday afternoon.

"Multiple law enforcement agencies remain on site for the ongoing investigation. The Student Union & surrounding area are still considered an active crime scene. Individuals should not return to the area for any reason," the post read. "Busing is underway to help students reach the reunification point at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center."

The @FloridaState campus has been secured. Multiple law enforcement agencies remain on site for the ongoing investigation. The Student Union & surrounding area are still considered an active crime scene. Individuals should not return to the area for any reason. (1/2)

— Tallahassee Police (@TallyPD) April 17, 2025

Florida State University officials announced that law enforcement "has neutralized the threat" after a shooting on campus, according to a post on X.

"Please avoid the Student Union, Bellamy, HCB Classroom Building, Rovetta A&B, Moore Auditorium, Shaw, Pepper, Hecht House and Carraway as they are still considered an active crime scene," the post read. "Individuals are free to move about other areas of campus. Individuals who may have witnessed anything of value should call 850-891-4987."

Law enforcement has neutralized the threat. Please avoid the Student Union, Bellamy, HCB Classroom Building, Rovetta A&B, Moore Auditorium, Shaw, Pepper, Hecht House and Carraway as they are still considered an active crime scene. Individuals are free to m https://t.co/5EP1wzWR2L

— FSU Alert (@FSUAlert) April 17, 2025

The father of 14-year-old daughter Jaime Guttenberg, who was murdered in the 2018 Parkland high school shooting, said in a post on X that "America is broken."

"As a father, all I ever wanted after the Parkland shooting was to help our children be safe," Fred Guttenberg said. "Sadly, because of the many people who refuse to do the right things about reducing gun violence, I am not surprised by what happened today."

Guttenberg added that some of Parkland survivors are current students at FSU.

A junior at FSU, McKenzie Heeter, told NBC6 about how a seemingly normal looking man got out of a vehicle she described as an orange Hummer near the Student Union and started waving a rifle.

First, she said, he opened fire toward her and others. Then, he went back into his car and got out "a pistol," Heeter said.

"He like, looked angry," Heeter said. "When he got the pistol and turned toward the other lady and just shot her, I knew he had no target and it was just, like, you know, shoot everybody. And that's when I took off."

Heeter said she ran so fast, her AirPods fell out of her ears. She didn't stop for them.

Florida A&M University, a university minutes away from Florida State University in Tallahassee, announced Thursday afternoon that classes and student activities are canceled for the rest of the day, in response to the shooting.

Employees have the option to work remotely for the rest of the day.

Ryan Cedergren, a 21-year-old communications student at Florida State University, said he and about 30 others hid in the bowling alley in the lower level of the student union after seeing students running from a nearby bar.

“In that moment, it was survival,” Cedergren said.

After about 15 minutes of hiding, university police escorted the students out of the union, and Cedergren said he saw a person receiving emergency treatment on the lawn.

There has been at least one fatality as a result of the shooting incident on Florida State University’s campus, a senior Florida law enforcement official briefed on the matter told NBC News.

The Tallahassee Police Department confirmed earlier today that one person was in custody in connection to the shooting.

Florida State University is cancelling classes, business operations and athletic events after the campus shooting.

"All classes and business operations are canceled through Friday, April 18. Essential employees should check with their supervisors for further reporting instructions," university officials said. "Athletics events in Tallahassee are canceled throughout the weekend."

President Donald Trump said he has been briefed on the shooting at FSU.

"It's a shame. Horrible thing," he said to reporters in the Oval Office. "Horrible that things like this take place, and we'll have more to say about it later."

A suspect has been taken into police custody and multiple victims were reported in a shooting at Florida State University, officials said.

Tallahassee Police confirmed a person was in custody after the shooting, but gave no other information.

A local hospital said they received six patients from FSU, including one in critical condition and five in serious condition.

Officials at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said they've received six patients from the shooting at Florida State University. 

One person was in critical condition and the other five were in serious condition, hospital officials said.

Florida State University student Daniella Streety described the chaos that unfolded after shots rang out on campus this afternoon. 

She remains on lockdown in a campus building and described seeing “nothing but blue lights from the police presence” and long lines of students with their hands raised being evacuated. 

“I did see them carry out one student in what looked like on a stretcher and kept them in the road until an ambulance was able to pick them up,” she told NBC’s Tom Llamas. “Directly across from me there’s a building about 50 feet outside of the window … There was a student injured there as well and they had to transport them in a desk chair to the road to then be transported via ambulance.”

She said she believes the shots rang out around noon inside the Student Union, the heart of campus bustling with students and faculty at this time of day. 

FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that he was briefed on the FSU shooting.

"My team and I have been briefed on the tragic shooting at Florida State and our FBI Jacksonville team is on the ground assisting. We will provide full support to local law enforcement as needed. Please keep the FSU community in your prayers," the post said.

My team and I have been briefed on the tragic shooting at Florida State and our FBI Jacksonville team is on the ground assisting. We will provide full support to local law enforcement as needed. Please keep the FSU community in your prayers.

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) April 17, 2025

Tallahassee Police officials said they're clearing buildings at Florida State University while responding to the active shooter situation.

Authorities said they're clearing the buildings to ensure there are no additional threats or victims.

Multiple law enforcement agencies are actively working to secure @FloridaState University campus. The student reunification point is being established at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. pic.twitter.com/Pd0YnJrRtY

— Tallahassee Police (@TallyPD) April 17, 2025

A family reunification point has been established at the Leon County Civic Center, police said.

State legislators are seeking more information about the active shooter situation at FSU, Florida Speaker of the House Rep. Danny Perez said.

"But we are thinking of everyone on campus," Perez said. "Our prayers are with Florida State at this moment."

In a post on X, Perez described the situation on campus as "terrifying and every parent’s worst nightmare."

Today's shooting at Florida State University tragically isn't the first for the campus.

In November 2014, a gunman — who was an alumnus of the university — shot an employee and two students at Strozier Library. The shooter was fatally shot by responding officers.

The FBI is responding to the scene at FSU as campus, city and state officials have convened at the school, according to a spokesperson for the bureau.

The FBI has a small office in Tallahassee that operates as a sub-office of their Jacksonville field office. Special Agents from both locations are on-scene or are en-route, a FBI spokesperson says.

Everyone on campus at FSU is asked to continue to shelter in place as law enforcement work to clear rooms in response to the shooting, according to the latest university alert.

"Continue to shelter in place until law enforcement contacts you," the school said. "Persons in need of immediate emergency assistance should call 9-1-1 or FSUPD at 850-644-1234."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis commented on the FSU shooting on X.

Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding. https://t.co/gT4mDwWsGC

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 17, 2025

All classes and university events including athletics at FSU's main campus in Tallahassee have been canceled for the rest of the day today following an active shooter call, according to the University.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said his office is reporting to the active shooter at FSU.

My office is responding to the active shooter situation on FSU’s campus, and we will provide updates as they become available.

— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) April 17, 2025

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said they're "actively engaged" in the incident at FSU.

FDLE is actively engaged in the incident on FSU's campus, and we will update the public with more information as soon as possible.

— FDLE (@fdlepio) April 17, 2025

A representative of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said the hospital has received multiple patients from FSU.

The full statement:

"TMH is actively receiving and caring for patients related to an incident that has occurred at Florida State University. At this time, details are still unfolding, and we do not yet have specific information to share. However, we want to assure the community that our teams are fully mobilized and prepared to provide the highest level of care and support to all those affected.
 
 We remain in close coordination with emergency responders and public safety officials. Out of respect for patient privacy and to ensure accurate information, we will provide updates as soon as they are available.
 
 We ask for your patience and compassion during this difficult time."

Police were responding to a report of an active shooter on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee on Thursday, officials said.

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