Topline
Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old son of a sheriff’s deputy whom police accuse of using his mother’s gun, is in police custody after being identified as a suspect in a shooting on Florida State University’s campus Thursday, which killed two people and injured at least six others.
Police identified 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner as a suspect in the Florida State University shooting. … More
Key Facts
Tallahassee police said at a news conference Thursday a handgun found at the scene matched a weapon owned by Ikner’s mother, Jessica Ikner, who has served as a Leon County sheriff’s deputy for more than 18 years.
Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil said it was “not a surprise” Ikner had access to weapons as he had been “steeped in the Leon County Sheriff’s Office family” and had taken part in multiple training programs, as well as serving on the Leon County Sheriff’s Office’s Youth Advisory Council.
Police have not identified a motive, and police chief Lawrence Revell said Ikner invoked his right to remain silent.
Police said Ikner was hospitalized after the shooting, during which he refused to comply with police demands and was shot by officers.
What Do We Know About Phoenix Ikner’s Background?
Several of Ikner’s Florida State University classmates told multiple news outlets he had espoused white supremacist views while a member of a campus political club. FSU student Reid Seybold told CNN Ikner was asked to leave a club because he made students uncomfortable with comments that went “beyond conservatism,” including “the ravages of multiculturalism and communism and how it’s ruining America.” Seybold and Riley Pusins, the president of FSU’s political discourse club, both told NBC News the views Ikner espoused during the club meetings aligned with white supremacist views. Pusins told NBC News that Ikner had attended meetings as recently as last semester. Ikner was quoted in an FSU student newspaper article in January about an anti-Trump, pro-Palestinian protest that took place days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration. “These people are usually pretty entertaining, usually not for good reasons,” Ikner said, according to a version of the article on the Internet Archive, adding Trump is “already going to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 and there’s not really much you can do unless you outright revolt, and I don’t think anyone wants that.” The student paper removed Ikner’s quote after the shooting to “avoid amplifying the voice of an individual responsible for violence.” A now-deleted Instagram profile that had Ikner’s name and face included a biblical quote, CNN reported: “You are my war club, my weapon for battle; with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms.” Ikner was reportedly caught in a custody dispute as a child, in which his biological mother, Anne-Mari Eriksen, took him from Florida to Norway in March 2015 in violation of a custody agreement, ABC News reported, citing court documents. Eriksen reportedly told Ikner’s father she was taking him to South Florida for spring break but instead fled the country. According to an affidavit cited by ABC, Ikner’s father said Ikner had “developmental delays and has special needs which he feared would not be taken care of without access to his doctors here in the United States,” adding he was taking medication for several physical and mental health issues, including ADHD and a growth hormone disorder. Ikner returned to the United States months later, where his mother was arrested for illegally removing a child from Florida.
What Do We Know About The Florida State University Shooting Victims?
Police said at the Thursday press conference they are not yet releasing details about the victims, though Revell said the two deceased were not FSU students. The injured victims were transported to a hospital for treatment.
Key Background
Police said a gunman opened fire at about 11:50 a.m. Thursday near the student union building on FSU’s campus. Police reportedly responded to an active shooter call at about 12:01 p.m., as the university urged students to seek shelter. FSU said at 3:18 p.m. police had “neutralized the threat,” instructing students to avoid several buildings they labeled an active crime scene. FSU canceled classes for the rest of the week.
Further Reading
FSU shooting suspect used mom’s service weapon and had far-right views, police and classmates say (NBC News)
