Man used police officer mum's gun to kill two at Florida college, police say

A tragic incident occurred at Florida State University (FSU) when a young man named Phoenix Ikner, who is just 20 years old, allegedly used a gun that belonged to his mother, a police officer, to carry out a shooting. This unfortunate event took place around lunchtime near the student union building in Tallahassee, Florida. According to authorities, two individuals lost their lives, and six others sustained injuries. The police responded swiftly to the scene, and during the confrontation, Phoenix was shot by law enforcement and subsequently taken to the hospital. The motive behind his actions remains unclear at this time. The two deceased individuals were not students at the university, and their identities have not yet been disclosed. Sheriff Walt McNeil, who oversees the Leon County Sheriff's Office, described Jessica Ikner, Phoenix's mother, as a dedicated and exemplary police officer. She had retained the firearm after the department upgraded its weapons. In addition to the handgun, a shotgun was also discovered at the scene of the shooting. Sheriff McNeil noted that Phoenix had been a longstanding member of the sheriff's office youth advisory council and had participated in various training programs, which raises concerns about how he had access to firearms. It was reported that Phoenix had previously been seen at a campus demonstration protesting against President Donald Trump's inauguration in January. According to the FSU student newspaper, he made a comment regarding the anti-Trump protesters, stating, 'These people are usually pretty entertaining, usually not for good reasons. ' However, this quote was later removed from the article, with an editor's note indicating that the publication did not wish to amplify the suspect's voice. When the shooting occurred, the university issued an alert to students and individuals on campus, instructing them to 'seek shelter and await further instructions. ' A student named Ava Arenado recounted that one of her classmates received an alert on her phone and shared it with the rest of the class. Another student, Blake Leonard, initially thought the sounds he heard were construction noises until he saw people running away from the union. He then realized the seriousness of the situation and began to flee as well. President Donald Trump was briefed on the incident before his meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House. When asked if he intended to change gun regulations in light of the shooting, he expressed his strong support for the Second Amendment, which protects the right to bear arms. He stated, 'I have been since the beginning. I have protected it. These things are terrible. We will have more to say about it later. ' He referred to the shooting as 'a shame, a horrible thing. ' Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also expressed his condolences, stating, 'Our prayers are with our FSU family, and state law enforcement is actively responding. ' This is not the first shooting incident at FSU; in 2015, a graduate of the university shot and injured three people at the library before being fatally shot by police. Fred Guttenberg, a gun control advocate whose daughter was killed in the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland High School in Florida, mentioned that some of her classmates who survived that attack were present on the FSU campus during this recent shooting. He expressed his disbelief on social media, stating, 'Incredibly, some of them were just a part of their 2nd school shooting and some were in the student union today.