Students Return to Florida State Campus After Deadly Shooting, Memorials Set Up to Honor Victims

Florida State University students and faculty are grappling with the aftermath of a terrifying shooting that took place on campus, claiming the lives of two men and injuring at least six others. The tragic event unfolded Thursday around lunchtime, leaving students scrambling for safety, some fleeing barefoot or leaving behind personal belongings in their desperate rush to escape.

By Friday morning, as a somber calm settled over the campus, memorials of candles and flowers sprang up in various locations, offering a quiet space for reflection. Students and professors began the difficult task of returning to campus, retrieving belongings and trying to come to terms with the horrific events of the previous day. A pair of vigils were scheduled for the afternoon to honor the victims.

Carolina Sena, a 21-year-old accounting student, vividly recalled the moments when the gunshots rang out inside the student union. “I heard some gunshots and then, you know, just blacked out after,” she said. “Everyone was crying and panicking. We were trying to barricade ourselves in a little corner in the basement, trying to protect ourselves as much as we could.”

Investigators identified the shooter as Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old who was reportedly a Florida State student and the son of a sheriff’s deputy. He used his mother’s former service weapon in the shooting, although the motive remains unclear. Authorities confirmed that the victims, who were not students, were fatally shot just outside the student union.

Ikner’s mother, a longtime member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, had kept the handgun for personal use after the department upgraded its weapons. Sheriff Walt McNeil said that Ikner, a member of the sheriff’s office’s youth advisory council, had been involved in several training programs with the agency, which made his access to firearms unsurprising.

As of Thursday night, Ikner was hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. His condition remains unconfirmed by the hospital.

Aidan Stickney, a 21-year-old business management student, narrowly avoided becoming a victim of the shooting. He had been running late to class when he saw the shooter approach a man with a shotgun. The weapon jammed, and the shooter quickly switched to a handgun, opening fire on a woman. Stickney, acting swiftly, ran for safety while warning others and calling 911.

“I got lucky today. I really did,” Stickney said, reflecting on how close he came to danger.

As the shots rang out, students across campus scattered in all directions. Holden Mendez, a political science major, had just left the student union when he heard the gunfire. “There was a lot of fear. A lot of panic,” he recalled. His emergency response training kicked in, and he worked to calm those around him, reassuring them that the building they were in was secure.

Andres Perez, another student, was in a classroom near the student union when the lockdown alarm sounded. He and his classmates quickly barricaded the door with desks as they awaited the arrival of police officers.

“I always hang out in the student union,” said Perez. “So the second I found out that the threat was there, my heart sank and I was scared.”

The shooting sent shockwaves across the country, drawing reactions from political figures including President Donald Trump, who called it “a horrible thing” while reiterating his stance against new gun legislation. “The gun doesn’t do the shooting, the people do,” he said from the Oval Office.

Florida State University President Richard McCullough expressed his sorrow, saying, “Our hearts go out to our students and the victims of this terrible tragedy.”

This is not the first time Florida State has experienced gun violence on campus. In 2014, a gunman opened fire in the university’s main library, injuring three people before being shot and killed by police. The university, with an enrollment of about 44,000 students, has long been a center of academic and extracurricular activity, but the dark shadow of violence has now touched the campus again.

In response to the attack, Florida State University canceled classes for the remainder of the week and also called off home athletic events through Sunday. As students and faculty process their emotions, the return to campus will be a difficult journey—one marked by grief, resilience, and a determination to heal.

The community remains shaken, but as vigils take place and memorials continue to grow, there is a sense of solidarity and support that is helping many begin to heal from the tragedy that has upended their peaceful campus life.