The gunman who opened fire at Florida State University, killing two and injuring six others, had a known history of promoting white supremacist rhetoric, according to former classmates and a new report.
Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old student and son of a sheriff’s deputy, reportedly shared disturbing and hateful views during his time at Tallahassee State College before transferring to FSU. Fellow students said he regularly pushed racist theories, including that Black people were destroying his neighbourhood and that Rosa Parks had been “in the wrong”.
“Basically our only rule was no Nazis — colloquially speaking — and he espoused so much white supremacist rhetoric, and far-right rhetoric as well, to the point where we had to exercise that rule,” former student Reid Seybold told the Tallahassee Democrat, recalling Ikner being asked to leave a political club on campus.
Another student, Lucas Luzietti, who studied federal politics with Ikner in 2023, told USA Today that he often argued with him over “gross” things he said, including conspiracy theories about President Joe Biden’s election and open declarations of owning guns. Luzietti said, “It’s so sad and so shocking. Then to see that it was him — I’m sadly not surprised.”
Ikner was a member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office’s youth advisory council and was described by Sheriff Walt McNeil as being deeply involved in their training programmes. “It’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons,” McNeil said, noting the weapon used in the attack belonged to Ikner’s mother, a long-serving deputy.
The shooting, which began outside the student union around lunchtime on Thursday, left students scrambling for safety. “Everyone was crying and just panicking,” said Carolina Sena, who was inside the building when shots rang out. “We were trying to barricade ourselves in a little corner in the basement.”
Witnesses described the chaos as Ikner allegedly began shooting with a handgun after his shotgun jammed. “I got lucky today. I really, really did,” said student Aidan Stickney, who narrowly avoided being shot.
Ikner was shot by responding officers after refusing to drop his weapon and remains hospitalised with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The victims who died were not FSU students, authorities confirmed.
President Trump commented on the incident, calling it “a horrible thing”, but reaffirmed his opposition to stricter gun laws. University President Richard McCullough described the shooting as a “tragic day for Florida State University”.
