Florida State shooting: At least 2 dead; 20-year-old suspect is stepson of local sheriff's deputy
At least one person is in critical condition.
The stepson of a local sheriff's deputy allegedly opened fire near the Student Union at Florida State University in Tallahassee on Thursday, killing two people and injuring six others, authorities said.
The suspect -- 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, a current FSU student -- was shot by responders and has been hospitalized, police said. He was taken into custody with non-life-threatening injuries, multiple law enforcement officials told ABC News.
Ikner is the stepson of a current Leon County sheriff's deputy, according to Sheriff Walter McNeil. He had access to one of his mother's personal weapons, which was one of the weapons found at the scene, the sheriff said. It appeared Ikner had a handgun and a shotgun with him, police said.
MORE | Alleged Florida State University gunman is son of local sheriff's deputy, police say
The suspect's mother has been a deputy with the department for more than 18 years and "her service to this community has been exceptional," McNeil said.
The suspect was also a "long-standing member" of the Leon County Sheriff's Office's Youth Advisory Council, McNeil said.
He was "engaged in a number of training programs that we have," the sheriff said, adding, "Not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons."
The campus has been secured, police said.
Police have not identified the two people killed but said they were not students.
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it's received six patients, all in fair condition.
Sophomore Paula Maldonado told ABC News she was in class near the Student Union when she heard what sounded like yelling outside.
"Right after, the active threat alarm went off," she said. "Everyone in my class quickly turned off the lights, put desks to block off the door and hid by the front of the classroom."
"We were quiet and some were whispering," Maldonado said. "Some were also crying and helping each other. Like a student next to me told me to put my backpack in front of me to protect myself."
"A cop came inside and I thought it was the shooter, so it was very scary. But after a couple of minutes another cop came back in and told us to go outside with our hands up, Maldonado said.
Student Daniella Streety told ABC News she was in the building across the street from the Student Union when alert sirens started blaring, and people who were standing outside ran into her building.
Students then fled from the Student Union as law enforcement flooded the scene, she said.
Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was killed in the Parkland high school shooting in South Florida in 2018, said some of Jaime's classmates now attend FSU.
"Incredibly, some of them were just a part of their 2nd school shooting and some were in the student union today," Guttenberg, who has become a gun reform supporter, wrote on social media. "As a father, all I ever wanted after the Parkland shooting was to help our children be safe. Sadly, because of the many people who refuse to do the right things about reducing gun violence, I am not surprised by what happened today."
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, "My heart breaks for the students, their families, and faculty at Florida State University. There is no place in American society for violence. Our entire nation is praying for the victims and their families."
FSU said classes are canceled through Friday.
So far in 2025, there have been 81 mass shootings as of April 17, including this latest one in Florida.
This is Florida's 6th mass shooting so far this year.
The Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as one with four or more people injured or killed - not including the perpetrator - counted 503 mass shootings in 2024, 659 mass shootings in 2023, 644 in 2022 and 689 in 2021.
This time last year, there were 117 shootings.
ABC News' Sony Salzman and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
ABC News' Luke Barr contributed to this report.
