Two people are dead and at least six injured after a mass shooting at Florida State University. The suspect in custody is no other than the sheriff’s deputy’s son, FSU Police Chief Jason Trumbower said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.
As of today, at least five people are still being treated for gunshot wounds at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, a hospital spokesperson told CNN. The two people who the shooter killed were not students.
A junior at FSU, McKenzie Heeter, who saw the shooter, described him as a “normal college dude” who was wearing an orange T-shirt and khaki shorts, NBC News reported.
“I was walking, and this guy pulls up in an orange Hummer,” Heeter said. “And he gets out with a rifle and shoots in my direction.”
The gunman began shooting near the student union at around 11:50 a.m., Trumbower said. The suspect shot multiple people before FSU police were able to neutralize and apprehend him.
Walt McNeil, the Leon County sheriff, identified the suspect as Phoenix Ikner, 20, the son of a Leon County sheriff’s deputy who is allegedly an FSU student.
The campus was initially locked down, with FSU sending out an alert urging students to take cover and lock doors. Students have since been allowed to return to their residence halls but asked to continue to avoid the student union, officials say.
More information to come.
