Fear and panic at Florida State as deadly shooting sends students fleeing

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – When a 20-year-old opened fire astatine Florida State University, terrified students barricaded doors and fled crossed campus, abandoning chemistry notes and adjacent shoes, successful a shooting that investigators said killed 2 men and wounded astatine slightest six others.

By aboriginal Friday, memorials of candles and flowers dotted the field and a school-wide vigil had been scheduled arsenic students and module tried to commencement healing from the erstwhile day's shooting, which sent shockwaves of fearfulness crossed the campus.

“I heard immoderate gunshots and then, you know, conscionable blacked retired after,” said Carolina Sena, a 21-year-old accounting pupil who was wrong the pupil national erstwhile the shooting started. “Everyone was crying and conscionable panicking. We were trying to barricade ourselves successful a small country successful the basement, trying to support ourselves arsenic overmuch arsenic we could."

The shooter, identified by constabulary arsenic Phoenix Ikner, is believed to beryllium a Florida State pupil and the lad of a sheriff’s lawman who opened occurrence with his mother’s erstwhile work weapon, investigators said. Authorities person not yet revealed a motive for the shooting, which began astir lunchtime Thursday conscionable extracurricular the pupil union.

Officers rapidly arrived and changeable and wounded the gunman aft helium refused to comply with commands, said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.

The 2 men who were killed were not students, said Florida State University Police Chief Jason Trumbower, adding that helium would not merchandise further accusation astir the victims.

The shooter obtained entree to a limb that belongs to his mother, who has been with the sheriff’s bureau for implicit 18 years and has been a exemplary employee, said Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil. Police said they believed Ikner changeable the victims utilizing his mother's erstwhile work handgun, which she had kept for idiosyncratic usage aft the unit upgraded to caller weapons.

Five radical who were wounded were struck by gunfire, portion a sixth was wounded portion trying to tally away, Revell said successful a connection Thursday night. They were each successful just condition, a spokesperson for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said.

The shooter was a long-standing subordinate of the sheriff’s office’s younker advisory council, the sheriff said.

“He has been steeped successful the Leon County Sheriff’s Office family, engaged successful a fig of grooming programs that we have,” McNeil said. “So it’s not a astonishment to america that helium had entree to weapons.”

As of Thursday night, Ikner was successful the infirmary with “serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” according to Revell.

Witness says the suspect's shotgun jammed

Ambulances, occurrence trucks and patrol vehicles from aggregate instrumentality enforcement agencies raced toward the field conscionable westbound of Florida's superior aft the assemblage issued an progressive shooter alert.

Aidan Stickney, a 21-year-old studying concern management, was moving precocious to people erstwhile helium said helium saw a antheral get retired of a car with a shotgun and purpose astatine different antheral successful a achromatic polo shirt.

The weapon jammed, Stickney said, and the shooter rushed backmost to his car and emerged with a handgun, opening occurrence connected a woman. Stickney ran, informing others arsenic helium called 911.

“I got fortunate today. I truly did. I really, truly did,” helium said.

Trumbower said investigators person nary grounds that anyone was changeable with the shotgun.

Shots sent students scattering

Holden Mendez, a 20-year-old pupil studying governmental subject and planetary affairs, said helium had conscionable near the pupil national erstwhile helium heard a bid of shots. He ran into a adjacent field building, wherever helium said his erstwhile exigency effect grooming kicked in.

“There was a batch of fear. There was a batch of panic. There was a batch of misinformation that was being dispersed around. I was doing my champion to benignant of combat that," helium said. “I told people, ‘Take a heavy breath. This gathering is secure. Everything is going to beryllium ok.'"

Andres Perez, 20, was successful a schoolroom adjacent the pupil national erstwhile the alarm sounded for a lockdown. He said his classmates began moving desks successful beforehand of the doorway and constabulary officers came to escort them out.

“I ever bent retired successful the pupil union,” Perez said. “So the 2nd I recovered retired that the menace was there, my bosom sank and I was scared.”

Shooting shocks field and the nation

President Donald Trump said from the Oval Office that helium had been afloat briefed connected the shooting.

“It’s a horrible thing. It’s horrible that things similar this instrumentality place,” helium said.

But Trump besides suggested that helium would not beryllium advocating for immoderate caller weapon legislation, saying, “The weapon doesn’t bash the shooting, the radical do.”

University President Richard McCullough said helium was heartbroken by the violence. “Our hearts spell retired to our students and the victims of this unspeakable tragedy," helium said.

Another shooting a decennary agone astatine Florida State

Florida State is 1 of Florida’s 12 nationalist universities, with its main field successful Tallahassee. About 44,000 students are enrolled successful the university, per the school’s 2024 information sheet.

In 2014, the main room was the tract of a shooting that wounded 3 people. Officers changeable and killed the gunman, 31-year-old Myron May.

The assemblage canceled classes for the remainder of the week and canceled location diversion events done Sunday.

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Fischer reported from Fort Lauderdale. Associated Press reporters Stephany Matat successful West Palm Beach, Curt Anderson successful St. Petersburg, Michael Schneider successful Orlando, Mike Balsamo successful New York, Eric Tucker and Christopher Megerian successful Washington, John Seewer successful Toledo, Ohio, and Hallie Golden successful Seattle contributed to this report.

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