Florida State University on Lockdown, Active Shooter Arrested

• By Ralph C. Jensen
• Apr 17, 2025

April 17, 2025, 12:47 CDT – Florida State University law enforcement officials have issued a stay in place shelter advisory after a gunman entered the campus student union and opened fire. At least six people have been hospitalized. One patient, in critical condition has died. Tallahassee Hospital officials have been treating other students have been seeking care.

FSU is located Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

The shooter has been apprehended but has not been identified yet.

Multiple law enforcement agencies have responded and were leading students off the campus. U.S. Marshals have taken charge of secure evacuation procedures. One marshal saying that there are “so many people in that building (student union) right now, so many to get out.” FSU officials are still suggesting that students shelter in place until police can clear each area.

Hospital officials are working diligently to provide care for those students who have been brought to the medical center or others who have been seeking aid.

"We remain in close coordination with emergency responders and public safety officials. Out of respect for patient privacy and to ensure accurate information, we will provide updates as soon as they are available. We ask for your patience and compassion during this difficult time," hospital officials said.

Sadly, this isn’t FSU’s first brush with an active shooter. Tragically, in November 2014, an FSA alumnus shot an employee and two students at Strozier Library.

This story will be updated as more information is made available. This situation remains fluid.

One Student Has Died

UPDATE 1:54 p.m. CDT – Florida State University – One student has perished following an active shooter situation on campus. Multiple students are being treated at a nearby hospital.

UPDATE 3:54 p.m. CDT – Two people are confirmed dead and at least six people are injured at the Florida State University Campus after a gunman opened fire on Thursday. The shooter also have been identified as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, a student at the university and the son of a Leon County sheriff's deputy. Ikner used a weapon to his mother, who serves as a school resource deputy.

Ikner was shot by first responders, then taken to the hospital. Ikner was a political science major and had been quoted in a FSView/Florida Flambeau article in January regarding a march by the Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society. "These people are usually pretty entertaining, usually not for good reasons," Ikner said. "I think it's a little too late, (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."

UPDATE 6:17 p.m. CDT – Law enforcement officials say that Florida State University campus is now secure, but they are asking students to stay away from areas considered an active crime scene. FSU administration has canceled classes for tomorrow.

Neither of the victims that died were students at the university, according to police.

The shooter, 20, is the son of a sheriff’s deputy who had access to one of his mother’s weapons. He was shot when he failed to obey a campus police officer’s commands. He has been taken to the hospital. The shooter also invoked his right to not speak to police.

Sheriff Walter McNeil recapped the incident saying that there were two deaths and six wounded. He also said his office intended to do all it could to prosecute the gunman in the deadly shooting on campus on Thursday, whom he identified as the son of one of his female deputies.

The gunman was a “longstanding member” of the department’s youth advisory council. He had taken part in several training programs, according to the sheriff. The attacker is believed to have acted alone.

UPDATE 11:20 a.m. CDT, April 18, 2025 – Shooting victims from the active shooter tragedy at Florida State University on April 17 have not been named, though family members of Robert Morales, 57, confirmed that he was killed via a post on social media.

Ricardo Morales Jr. posted on social media that his younger brother was one of two fatalities from the shooting. Robert was a long-time employee in the university’s dining services department. He had been attending a meeting in the Student Union building when shooting erupted. He was the son of Ricardo “Monkey” Morales, a CIA operative and controversial Cuban American active during the Cold War.

While none of the other victims have been named, two of the students have been released from the hospital, two students have been upgraded to good condition, and one student has been listed in fair condition.

UPDATE 2:33 p.m. CDT, April 18 2025 – Two men, victims at the Florida State University shooting on April 17 have now been identified by law enforcement. As previously reported Robert Morales, 57, who was the dining coordinator was killed, as was his boss Tiru Chabba, who was a regional vice president at Aramark Collegiate Hospitality.

Chabba was on a work-related visit to the university. Chabba, 45, is from Simpsonville, SC and was manager for the Southeast region for the Aramark division that caters to campuses. Chabba had worked for Aramark for more than 25 years and had held his high-level company position for more than two and a half years.

The university located in Tallahassee is about 220 miles northwest of Orlando and is the state’s capital city. More than 42,000 students are enrolled at FSU’s main campus.

The shooter is the 20-year-old son of Leon County Sheriff’s deputy Jessica Ikner. He used his mother’s retired service weapon, which was used during the shooting. Jessica Ikner has been with the department for 18 years and has since been reassigned within the sheriff’s department.

Law enforcement has yet to determine a motive for the killing, though reports are circulating that the shooter espoused white supremacist rhetoric that he had previously been banned from a “political round table” club.

More information will be released when it becomes available.