The suspect in the Florida State University shooting has been identified as the 20-year-old son of a local sheriff’s deputy.

“The suspect — 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, a current FSU student — was shot by responders and has been hospitalized,” ABC News reports.

Law enforcement officials reportedly took Ikner into custody with non-life-threatening injuries.

Two people are reported deceased and six others sustained injuries.

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ABC News reports:

Ikner is the son of a current Leon County sheriff’s deputy, according to Sheriff Walter McNeil. He had access to one of his mother’s personal weapons, which was one of the weapons found at the scene, the sheriff said. It appeared Ikner had a handgun and a shotgun with him, police said.

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The suspect’s mother has been a deputy with the department for more than 18 years and “her service to this community has been exceptional,” McNeil said.

The suspect was also a “long-standing member” of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office’s Youth Advisory Council, McNeil said.

He was “engaged in a number of training programs that we have,” the sheriff said, adding, “Not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons.”

The campus has been secured, police said.

Police have not identified the two people killed but said they were not students.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it’s received six patients, all in fair condition.

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Ikner was quoted in a January article about an anti-Trump rally on campus.

“I think it’s a little too late, he’s [Trump] 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,” a quote from Ikner read in the article.

It’s unclear if Ikner participated in the protest or was an onlooker.

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Per FSU News:

Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) marched on Jan. 14 to oppose President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s agenda. The protest occurred less than a week before Trump’s inauguration.

Roughly 15 protestors started their rally around the Legacy Fountain in Landis Green. Here, they passed out flyers with written chants, held a Palestinian flag, and signs with phrases like “Abortion is Healthcare.” The group began their march toward the Integration Statue shortly after 4 p.m., where they set up to make speeches.

The organization promoted the rally on Instagram, featuring messages like: “FIGHT TRUMP’S BACKWARDS AGENDA,” “END THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA,” “STOP RACIST ATTACKS ON IMMIGRANTS” and “DEFEND WOMEN’S & LGBTQ+ RIGHTS!”

“It has become increasingly obvious that the agenda of Donald Trump, the agenda of Gov. Ron Desantis, the agenda of President Richard McCullum and the Board of Trustees are one and the same,” Tallahassee SDS Planning Committee Chair Oliver Cheese said. “They are all united in repressing student protest, in supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza and in continuing to silence, to repress and to beat back queer people, trans people, black people and poor people.”

Another concern stemmed from a measure in 2023 that prevented universities from allocating funds to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives (SB 266). While FSU’s DEI office was shut down, no employees were fired, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

“FSU has been rolling back DEI and LGBTQ+ based diversity initiatives for a year now, more or less,” Tallahassee SDS Communications Committee co-chair JJ Glueck said. “We’re addressing Trump in particular because he is the face of a lot of these policies in ways, but we’re also talking directly to the university. We don’t want them to think we’re okay with his agenda or their agenda, which echoes his.”

In the last year, FSU penalized the group for multiple conduct infractions. After forming a protest at an FSU Board of Trustees meeting on Nov. 10, 2023, Tallahassee SDS was de-listed as a recognized student organization at FSU until May 15, 2025.

Once the protesters reached the Integration Statue, Florida State University Police Department (FSUPD) officers stood on guard and groups of onlookers began to form.

“These people are usually pretty entertaining, usually not for good reasons,” Phoenix Ikner, a political science major, said. “I think it’s a little too late, he’s [Trump] 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.”

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