TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A family member has identified one of the two men killed Thursday in a mass shooting at Florida State University as Robert Morales.
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“Today we lost my younger Brother, He was one of the victims killed at FSU,” Morales’ brother, Ricardo Morales Jr., posted on X. “He loved his job at FSU and his beautiful Wife and Daughter. I’m glad you were in my Life.”
You deserved better
— Ricardo Morales Jr. (@Rick714Canes) April 18, 2025
Robert. Thank you for being in my life. pic.twitter.com/pIds98nFbI
According to a GoFundMe page set up in 2021 for Robert Morales by a colleague, he underwent a kidney transplant that year after a “long journey of hope.”
The Miami-Dade County native was reportedly a dining service employee at the university in Tallahassee.
Details about the second victim killed in the shooting have not been released.
The shooter, identified by police as Phoenix Ikner, 20, is believed to be a Florida State student and the stepson of a sheriff’s deputy who opened fire with his stepmother’s former service weapon, investigators said. Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the shooting, which began around lunchtime Thursday just outside the student union.
Officers quickly arrived and shot and wounded the gunman after he refused to comply with commands, said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.
Five people who were wounded were struck by gunfire, while a sixth was hurt while trying to run away, Revell said in a statement Thursday night. They were all in fair condition, a spokesperson for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said.