Just moments before noon last Thursday, as multiple rounds of gunfire erupted near Florida State University’s student union, students fled the campus seeking safety while the sound of emergency sirens grew louder.
A mere two minutes after 911 calls reported the shooting, university police shot and apprehended the suspected assailant, authorities stated. Despite the swift response, the shooting resulted in the deaths of two individuals and injuries to five others, sending shockwaves through the university community.
“The call came in, someone reported it, and they immediately responded to the scene, promptly neutralizing the suspect and preventing what could have been a greater tragedy,” FSU President Richard McCullough conveyed at a news conference on Thursday.
As new details concerning the alleged shooter emerge, Tallahassee police are actively investigating and seeking to determine a motive.
According to law enforcement, the suspect, 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, is the son of a Leon County sheriff’s deputy and an FSU student. Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell indicated on Thursday that there appears to be no connection between Ikner and any of the victims.
“We will continue to thoroughly examine this. We’ll keep following any leads that come in, but at this time, there doesn’t seem to be any link between the shooter and even one of the victims,” Revell explained.
Ikner sustained serious injuries and will remain hospitalized “for a significant period” before being transferred to a local detention facility, Revell reported on Friday afternoon. At that point, he will face charges “up to and including first-degree murder,” Revell stated in a video message on Friday.
Related Article A devoted father of two and a dining coordinator committed to service were among those killed in the Florida State University shooting. Two men – a university dining coordinator and an employee of a campus vendor – lost their lives. Officials have yet to identify the five individuals who were wounded in the shooting.
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare reported that the five patients hospitalized due to the shooting remain in good condition and are expected to make full recoveries, and one patient was discharged on Friday. Police indicated that five people were injured by gunfire, and another person sustained injuries while attempting to escape. The hospital declined to comment on whether Ikner was among their patients.
“They are all hurting, in pain, and scared, but are doing remarkably well and are expected to fully recover,” McCullough, who visited the victims at the hospital on Friday, noted.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, this marks Florida’s sixth mass shooting this year and the 81st nationwide. It occurs seven years after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which claimed 17 lives.
“As a father of several children, this is the thing we fear most. This is that random act of violence that seems to lack any meaning or logical explanation,” Revell expressed. “To know that your child was on that campus, to know that your child may or may not have been involved and not know that, I can only imagine the terror and the fear.”
Here’s what we currently know about the timeline, the suspect, and the victims of Thursday’s shooting.
A student pays tribute to the deceased and injured students near the site of the shooting at the Florida State University student center on April 18, 2025, in Tallahassee, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images
The shooting unfolded in under 5 minutes. Around 11 a.m. on Thursday, Ikner arrived at an FSU parking garage and remained in the vicinity for approximately an hour, intermittently returning to his vehicle, police disclosed in a release on Friday.
Subsequently, Ikner departed the parking garage at 11:51 a.m. Roughly five minutes later, the first shot was fired.
Allegedly using the deputy’s former service weapon, Ikner entered multiple buildings and outdoor areas, firing seemingly indiscriminately. By 11:58 a.m., as students barricaded doors and texted their loved ones, numerous 911 calls reported an active shooter on campus.
The suspected shooter “did not comply with commands,” Revell stated, and at noon, the suspect was shot and taken into custody, at which point he invoked his right to remain silent, Revell said on Thursday.
A law enforcement official familiar with the ongoing investigation suggested that the suspect might have been prepared to shoot more individuals had he not been confronted by law enforcement shortly after the shooting commenced. In addition to the service weapon found on the suspect, police recovered an AR-15 rifle in the car he drove to campus and a shotgun inside the student union.
“What we witnessed on April 17th was an extraordinary display of teamwork and professionalism in the face of a horrific event,” Revell affirmed in a statement on Friday.
With the investigation in its preliminary stages and the motive still undetermined, authorities are interviewing witnesses and victims, according to the release.
Suspect is an FSU student and the son of a deputy. Ikner,
