FSU shooting suspect ID'd as deputy's son; gunman killed 2, injured 6: Updates

Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the FSU school shooting for Thursday, April 17. For the latest news on the FSU shooting aftermath, read USA TODAY's coverage for Friday, April 18.

TALLAHASSEE, FL − Police say the son of a local sheriff deputy opened fire at Florida State University on April 17, killing two people and injuring six others in the latest school shooting to rock a U.S. college campus.

The alleged gunman, identified as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, started firing near the student union at approximately 11:50 a.m., striking multiple people and triggering a campus-wide lockdown as students ran for cover, law enforcement officials said at a news conference.

Campus police arrived at the scene "almost immediately" and shot the suspect, who did not respond to commands, Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said. The gunman was taken into custody and transported to a hospital with "serious but non-life threatening injuries."

Two people who were not students were pronounced dead at the scene, law enforcement officials said. Six people were in the hospital in fair condition; five suffered gunshot wounds and another person was injured while running away from the shooting, Revell said.

At the scene, investigators recovered a handgun that belonged to the suspect's mother, a longtime deputy with the Leon County Sheriff's Office, said Sheriff Walt McNeil. A shotgun was also found, but it's unclear whether it was used. Ikner, an FSU student majoring in political science, had previously attended trainings held by the law enforcement agency and was a member of its youth advisory council.

"Unfortunately, her son had access to one of her weapons," McNeil said, referring to the suspect's mother, a school resource officer. "We are continuing that investigation into how that weapon was used and what other weapons he perhaps may have had access to."

Developments:

∎ FSU said in a statement that all classes and events scheduled from April 17 to April 18 have been canceled. Several campus buildings also remained closed and athletics events in Tallahassee were canceled through Sunday. "The Student Union and the surrounding area is still considered an active crime scene. The public and campus community should avoid the area," the university advised.

∎ The FBI has responded to the scene and is actively assisting other agencies investigating the incident, according to a statement from the bureau's Jacksonville office.

∎ President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he was "fully briefed" on the shooting. "It's a shame. It's a horrible thing, horrible that things like this take place," he said.

Alleged FSU shooter previously trained in sheriff's office

Ikner was a member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office Youth Advisory Council, McNeil said.

“He has been steeped in the Leon County Sheriff’s Office family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have,” the sheriff said. “So it’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons.”

McNeil said the suspect’s mother has served on the Leon County Sheriff’s Office for over 18 years. “Her service to this community has been exceptional,” he said.

Handgun at scene was deputy's former service weapon, chief says

Revell said the handgun found at the scene was previously used by the suspect’s mother while on duty before she received a new service weapon, at which time the old one became her “personal handgun."

The alleged gunman's mother, whose name has not been released publicly, serves as a school resource deputy for Raa Middle School in Tallahassee, according to the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network.

FSU took refuge in campus restroom amid shooting

Law enforcement swarmed the campus as students, faculty and staff took refuge in buildings across the university. Paige Miller was in the restroom outside her classroom next to the student union when she heard four loud bangs.

“I thought it was the roof collapsing, honestly, and then suddenly three girls come running in and one of them was crying," she said. Miller called 911 and held the restroom door shut until police arrived. When she went outside, Miller said she saw one person on the ground surrounded by officers.

FSU student recalls barricading in the basement

Andrew Cheyne was in the basement of the FSU student union when the shooting broke out. He said a teacher and a bowling coach came into the billiard hall and locked the doors behind them.

“We waited in there for about 10 or 15 minutes, maybe 30 or 40 of us holed up,” Cheyne said. He prayed, leaning on his Christian faith but was still “frightened.”

They were escorted out of the building by police. Once outside, Cheyne said he saw one man on the ground in handcuffs and another injured person. The area was filled with “paramedics and tons and tons of police," he said.

– Phaedra Trethan

FSU student says students ran into her classroom and asked to hide

Mae Baltz, a 24-year-old graduate student, was in class when some students ran in and asked if they could hide there.

They upended some desks and shoved them under and against the classroom door, which they couldn't lock. When they turned off the overhead projector, the classroom was dark and they worried police wouldn’t be able to find them, she said.

Baltz called 911, but didn’t immediately receive an answer. However, within five minutes, they heard walkie-talkies. It was the police.

Their professor later asked whether anyone had undergone active shooter training. Baltz had lived near Parkland, where a 2018 shooting left 17 people dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High — the country’s deadliest high school shooting.

Baltz said she received the training at Suncoast High School in Riviera Beach. Another student, who had worked in a casino, had also learned about it. 

“I felt so bad. There were so many people who were so scared,” Baltz told the Tallahassee Democrat.

How many mass shootings in 2025?

There have been 81 mass shootings so far in 2025, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Those are incidents where four or more people were shot, not including the gunman. 

The attacks include a Dallas high school shooting in which four students were wounded, a shooting at a New Mexico park that killed three people and injured 15 more, and a house party in Washington that ended with two young people dead and several others injured after gunfire broke out.

– N'dea Yancey-Bragg

FSU says law enforcement 'neutralized the threat'

Florida State University said in an alert that law enforcement has "neutralized the threat."

"Please avoid the Student Union, Bellamy, HCB Classroom Building, Rovetta A&B, Moore Auditorium, Shaw, Pepper, Hecht House and Carraway as they are still considered an active crime scene," the alert said. "Individuals are free to move about other areas of campus. Individuals who may have witnessed anything of value should call 850-891-4987."

FSU rocked by shooting in 2014, grapples with familiar pain

Florida State University endured a mass shooting before. In 2014, a 31-year-old attorney and graduate of the school opened fire late at night at a library entrance. The shooter, who authorities said was fueled by paranoia about government and personal problems, shot three people, injuring one critically.

As many as 500 students were in the library at the time, forced to huddle, terrified, behind barricades they constructed to try and keep the gunman out. The shooter was killed on a wheelchair ramp outside. Still, the tragedy left a mark on the campus and beyond.

“We're moving ahead, we're continuing to pray for the victims and pray for Florida State University,” then-FSU president John Thrasher, said. “But we're going to get through this with the great family we have."

– Donovan Slack

FSU cancels campus event honoring 2018 shooting victim

An event that was designed to promote safety on campus and among FSU students was canceled due to the shooting. 

The shooting occurred hours before the event was scheduled to begin. Titled "United Against Hate: Building a Safer Campus and Community Together," the event was meant to honor 21-year-old Maura Binkley, a senior at FSU who was one of two victims killed in a 2018 shooting.

Binkley and Dr. Nancy Van Vessem, 61, died after a gunman with a long history of misogynist and criminal behavior opened fire in a hot yoga studio in Tallahassee. Binkley was a fourth-generation FSU student at the time while Van Vessem was a chief medical officer at Capital Health Plan and an early faculty member at FSU's College of Medicine.

— Jennifer Sangalang, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida

'Everyone started freaking out'

Sam Swartz and Sean Gulledg said they were in the basement of the student union when the shooting started. They said they heard maybe 10 gunshots while they were working on a group project.

“Everyone started freaking out,” Swartz told the Tallahassee Democrat.

The group of eight cornered themselves in a hallway and started to barricade the opening with trash cans and plywood. “I remember learning to do the best you can to make them take time because they don’t want to do anything that takes time, they’re just trying to get as many people,” Swartz said.

Students heard law enforcement officers going up and down hallways instructing people to come out with their hands up. Everyone was patted down and checked before evacuating, Swartz said. 

Gulledg, a resident assistant, said they train for these types of situations, but never thought they’d have to use them. “I trusted the training,” he said. 

Student describes moment campus went on lockdown

Rafael Fernandez, a sophomore at FSU, was in class in the Rovetta Building when an alarm came over the PA system and an alert flashed on the screen in the lecture hall. His professor locked the doors and students stood in an area of the room without windows.

Eventually Tallahassee police officers arrived, and they opened the doors.

"We walked out with our hands up, and we were escorted out of the building into a clear area, a safe zone," Fernandez told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Where is Florida State University?

FSU is located in the state's capital, Tallahassee. It is found in the middle of the Panhandle between Jacksonville and Pensacola.

The main campus of Florida State University is on West College Ave. A research university founded in 1851, FSU has 44,300 students from across the state and 130 countries. 

The main campus has 403 buildings spread across 485.7 acres, according to the school's web site, which notes it is the "oldest continuous site of higher education in Florida."

– Donovan Slack, Samantha Neely

Trump briefed on shooting, backs Second Amendment

As he signed two unrelated executive orders after getting briefed on the shooting, Trump voiced his support for the Second Amendment after being asked if there were any changes he'd like made to U.S. gun laws.

Trump said tragedies like the one at FSU are terrible. "But the gun doesn't do the shooting, the people do," he said. "I will tell you it's a shame."

"I have an obligation to protect the Second Amendment. I ran on the Second Amendment, among many other things, and I will always protect the Second Amendment," Trump said.

– Francesca Chambers

Dozens sheltering at FSU wellness center

About 20 students and 12 staff members sheltered in the campus Health and Wellness Center behind a locked door, FSU senior Hanna Burda told USA TODAY. The psychology major from Tallahassee said she was sitting outside, in between the center and Einstein Bagel Bros shop, when she first heard about five shots.

"I actually started recording a Snapschat to say, 'Wow, there's a nail gun going off that sounds like a gun,'" she said by text while in lockdown. "But then about six more shots went off and I saw students running in my direction from the path in front of the student union. That's when I started running, realizing it was an actual shooter. As I passed people who were ignorant of the situation, I told them there was an active shooter. The gunfire was echoing between the Student Union, the HCB, Bellamy and the Moore auditorium area."

– Jennifer Portman

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis offers prayers to 'FSU family'

"Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a statement on X.

'I heard seven to eight gunshots'

Will Schatz, an FSU senior, was in Strozier Library on campus around noon with friends when he saw people running. He ran with them, exiting the back of the library.

"I could have sworn I saw a cop running after somebody and screaming something when we ran out," he told the Tallahassee Democrat. "Then, when I got out, I heard seven to eight gunshots. I'm not sure if that was the shooter shooting or if the cops shot the shooter."

He said he called his mother right after he got out of the library to tell her he was OK. Since then, he said he saw four students loaded into ambulances and taken away.