Tragedy Strikes Florida State University

FSU Community Mourns After Shooting

Photo by Jackson Myers / CC BY-ND 2.0

A Florida State Student, Phoenix Ikner, was arrested and accused of killing two people and injuring six others in a shooting on April 17. He is the son of a local sheriff's deputy, authorities said, and he spent time training with law enforcement and serving on a sheriff's advisory council in the years before his attack. P. Ikner was taken into custody after being shot and injured by the university police. When he was shot, he was found carrying a handgun that used to be the weapon of his mother, Jessica Ikner.

The police have yet to disclose any potential motive for the shooting, however, his classmates and clubmates came out to make a statement against him which could explain his reasoning behind the shooting. Former members of student clubs that included P. Ikner described him as a deeply polarizing figure whose extremist views and disruptive behavior ultimately led to his removal from one club. Whilst attending Tallahassee State College, P. Ikner was part of a political discussion group called the Political Roundtable. Members of the club would often report that he expressed racist, anti-semitic, misogynistic and white supremacist views. Reid Seybold, the president of the club said that P. Ikner’s presence was unsettling.

“He made people uncomfortable,” Seybold said. “I personally know him to have complained about how multiculturalism and communism are ruining America.”

J. Ikner was a remarkable sheriff as stated by Sheriff Walter McNeil. She had been working with the department for 18 years. Jessica requested personal leave on April 18 and was granted it due to the recent circumstances. After the shooting, police recovered an AR-15-style rifle, along with a .45 caliber pistol and shotgun at the scene. The multiple firearms showed investigators he may have been prepared to shoot more people had he not been stopped by law enforcement. Another student that was in the same club P. Ikner was in, expressed that he would frequently talk and boast about having guns.

“I remember thinking this man should not have access to firearms,” Lucas Luzietti said.

After the devastating shooting, two were lost and six were terribly injured. Robert Morales and Tirru Chabba were both husbands and fathers who passed away in the shooting. Morales worked at FSU for a long time and worked in the dining service department. He was attending a meeting with other university employees when the shootout began. Chubba was an on-campus vendor and got caught in the active shooting when it began.

 Madison Askings was shot when the gunman opened fire. Askings expressed that she tried to run but was wearing nice shoes and tripped which is when she was shot in the lower back. Askings then proceeded to play dead which she thinks is what ultimately saved her from being shot again. She said that she was not going to let someone like that take away her happiness.

“He doesn't deserve to stop us from enjoying our college university life,” Askings said. “I've got at least another 40 years ahead of me and my goodness, I am going to be making waves and setting fires for sure.”

The other victims have not yet spoken out on the recent tragedy.