2 dead, 6 victims injured, gunman injured after FSU shooting

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Two people have died after a shooting occurred Thursday at Florida State University in Tallahassee, police said.

Six victims were injured and the suspected gunman, an FSU student, has been taken into custody. He was also injured.

6 p.m. report:

The two victims killed were not students, FSU’s police chief said at a news conference Thursday.

Officials identified the shooter as Phoenix Ikner, the 20-year-old stepson of a Leon County sheriff’s deputy. They said he used a former service weapon.

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Ikner declined to speak to police and invoked his rights to an attorney, they said.

Forrest Saunders, a Tallahassee-based reporter, said he saw a man being “shackled” by law enforcement before being taken away.

State Sen. Jason Pizzo later confirmed to Local 10’s Glenna Milberg that the suspect had been shot and was taken into custody.

A spokesperson for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said one of the hospitalized patients was in critical condition and the other patients were in serious condition.

Later in the evening, officials said all the victims were in fair condition.

Ambulances, fire trucks and patrol vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies raced toward the campus that sits just west of Florida’s state capital after the university issued an active shooter alert midday Thursday, saying police were responding near the student union.

Reporter describes shooting scene:

Cellphone video shows people running across the street, away from campus as buildings in the area were placed on lockdown.

A witness told reporters they heard the sound of automatic gunfire at one point.

Students seen outside the area where the shooting was reported were glued to their phones, some visibly emotional, while others hugged each other. Dozens gathered near the music school waiting for news.

Ryan Cedergren, a 21-year-old communications student, 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,” he said.

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

Junior Joshua Sirmans, 20, said he was in the university’s main library when alarms began going off warning of an active shooter. Sirmans said law enforcement officers escorted him and other students out of the library with their hands over their heads.

Several schools and daycares in the area were reportedly on lockdown as a precaution.

The FBI is assisting authorities at FSU. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was also spotted at the scene.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a social media post that the Justice Department is in touch with FBI agents who are on the scene.

“Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding,” Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on X.

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