TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Anne-Mari Eriksen is the biological mother of the gunman who was arrested after a fatal shooting Thursday at Florida State University in Tallahassee.
On Friday, after two died and six were injured, Eriksen said she had not seen her son in several years. She was involved in a bitter custody fight with his father.
Records show Eriksen was arrested for kidnapping at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after returning from Norway with her son in 2015.
“I was alienated from him,” Eriksen said at her home in Tallahassee.
In less than 5 minutes, her 20-year-old son was arrested while in possession of a gun that belonged to his stepmother, a Leon County Sheriff’s Office deputy, according to police.
“I have been concerned for him in the past, but I would never have thought that,” Eriksen said.
Also on Friday, there was a sea of garnet and gold during a vigil on campus.
Roberto Morales and Tiru Chabba were both fathers working in the food service industry. Relatives grieved the loss on social media.
Morales was “a member of the FSU family since 2015. He worked in our department of business services and was known as a dedicated colleague and kind person,” FSU President Richard McCullough said during the vigil.
Morales, an FSU dining coordinator, was born in Miami-Dade County. His father, Ricardo “Monkey” Morales, was a Cuban exile turned CIA operative who was fatally shot.
“He loved his job at FSU and his beautiful Wife and Daughter,” Morales’s brother, Ricardo Morales, Jr., wrote.
Chabba, 45, was born in Greenville, South Carolina; earned an MBA from The Citadel in South Carolina; and worked as an Aramark Collegiate Hospitality regional vice president.
The six injured, including Madison Askins, survived and were at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.
“Alll of them are expected to make a full recovery,” McCullough said adding that he expected two to be released Friday.
Zeke Rosenthal, of Boca Raton, is a senior at FSU. He was replaying what it was like to hide with classmates who had survived the Parkland massacre.
“None of the doors lock in the building -- which is a huge problem -- and the door swings outward so we had no choice but to throw desks, climb inside of a classroom,” Rosenthal said.
The gunman was injured during his arrest.
“I don’t understand what would bring someone to do something like that,” Rosenthal said.
The vigil
The Tallahassee Police Department’s timeline
- The gunman left a parking lot shortly after 11:50 a.m., and he started firing about six minutes later.
- A 911 dispatcher talked to a caller reporting the active shooter at 11:58 a.m.
- A few minutes later, police officers arrested the gunman, who was injured in the process.