FSU shooting: Mom speaks out after suspected shooter son is identified as ‘white supremacist’
Phoenix Ikner was removed from a school political club over ‘far-right rhetoric’ he shared, his classmates claim
The suspect in the Florida State University shooting reportedly shared “white supremacist views” with concerned classmates before yesterday’s attack that killed two people and injured six others.
Phoenix Ikner had a tumultuous childhood, according to court records showing the biological mother of the 20-year-old was accused of removing him from the U.S. when he was 10.
He later changed his name from Christian Eriksen to share the surname of his mother, Leon County Deputy Jessica Ikner, whose former service weapon he used during the shooting, police said.
His biological mother, Anne-Mari Eriksen, told ABC News on Friday that she initially worried he might have been hurt; when he was named a suspect, she “collapsed.”
"There’s so much that needs to be said about this, but I just can’t talk without crying. We need time to process all this,” she said.
Following the attack, a classmate at Ikner’s former school claimed the suspect was told to leave a “political round table” club after he “espoused so much white supremacist rhetoric, and far-right rhetoric as well, to the point where we had to exercise that rule.”
Once Ikner is released from the hospital, where he is expected to be for a while, he’ll be “taken to a local detention facility where he will face the charges up to and including first-degree murder,” Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said Friday.
Investigators had not revealed a motive as of Friday evening or released the victims’ identities, but some family members have come forward.
The two victims who lost their lives were identified Friday as Tiru Chabba and Robert Morales. Both men were fathers.
Petrified FSU students take shelter under tables
Footage has emerged showing students taking shelter as the shooter opened fire at the Tallahassee campus on Thursday.
Petrified FSU students take shelter under tables during shooting as alarms sound
Classmates say suspect supported Trump and 'white supremacist views'
The suspected gunman is a Trump supporter who shared white supremacist views, classmates have claimed.
FSU senior Reid Seybold said he knew the suspect, Phoenix Ikner, from a political discussion group on campus.
Seybold, the group’s president, told NBC Ikner had been asked to leave because “he espoused so much white supremacist rhetoric and far-right rhetoric”.
Another club member, Riley Pusins, said the outlet that the Ikner had also advocated for the president’s agenda.
Public voter records show Ikner registered as a Republican in 2022, NBC added.
Suspect's troubled childhood - reports
The suspect in the shooting had a tumultuous childhood, court records have shown.
As more detail emerges on Phoenix Ikner following Thursday’s shooting, a review of court records by CNN has shown his biological mother was accused of removing him from he US in violation of a custody agreement when he was 10 years old.
He later changed his name from Christian Eriksen to share the surname of his mother, Leon County Deputy Jessica Ikner, whose former service weapon he used during the shooting, police say.
University focus is now on 'taking care of people'
Following yesterday’s shooting, which left two dead and six injured, Richard McCullough, Florida State University president, said the organisation’s focus was not on “taking care of people.”
He added: “That means the victims and their families. It means students, faculty, and staff who were nearby and are now trying to make sense of what they experienced. And it means every person in our campus community who is feeling shaken or overwhelmed.”
Today, a support center has been set up at the university for staff and pupils.
What is the motive of the attack
Investigators have not yet revealed a motive for the shooting.
Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell told reporters that Ikner had invoked his right not to speak to investigators.
However, Revell stressed his belief that the suspect had acted alone and that there was no further threat to the public.
'He was pretty normal, he was nice' - former classmate on suspect
Nicholas Lobo as in the political discourse group at Tallahassee State College that shooting suspect, Phoenix Ikner, was kicked out from for sharing right-wing views.
Not knowing Ikner well, Lobo told NBC News: “He was pretty normal, he was nice.”
He said the 20-year-old wasn’t a radical but tended to take more conservative positions and views.
He added he was “a bit shocked” to hear the suspect’s name when hearing about the shooting yesterday.
Suspect's biological mother was sentenced for removing son
More has emerged about gunman suspect Phoenix Ikner’s biological mother, who CNN report, was accused of taking her 10-year-old son to Norway in violation of a custody agreement.
The outlet reports that the mother made no contest to the charge of removing a minor from the state, and was sentenced to 200 days in jail.
After the incident, Ikner, who was previously called Christian Eriksen, changed his name.
It is not clear what contact Ikner’s biological mother had with her son over the past decade.
But on Facebook, shortly after the shooting, she wrote a now-deleted post complaining Ikner’s father had not responded when she asked how her son was.
Suspect's paternal grandmother died last year
An online obituary appears to show the gunman suspect Phoenix Ikner’s grandmother died last year.
Sandra Ikner, aged 73, of Tallahassee, died after a short illness.
Ikner is named as the only child of Christopher and Jessica.
“She was most proud to be the ‘Mimi’ of her only grandson Phoenix whom she doted over,” the obituary reads.
Hospital issues update on injured victims
Six people were injured in yesterday’s shooting at Florida State University’s Tallahassee State College.
They were all taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, which has today issued an update on their condition.
A spokesperson said two patient were to be discharged today. Three were in a good condition, while one remained in a fair condition, they added.
Bitter dispute between suspect's biological mother and father revealed
Court documents illustrate the bitter dispute between the shooting suspect Phoenix Ikner’s biological mother and father.
As we’ve reported, Anne-Mari Eriksen was sentenced for taking her son, then called Christian Gunnar Eriksen, to Norway in violation of a custody agreement.
Shortly after, Eriksen filed a lawsuit alleging slander and libel against Christopher Ikner, his wife Jessica Ikner, and two other relatives.
The complaint, seen by The Independent, read: “The emotional and psychological harm done to the minor child will be evident for years, and will require counseling, and given the child being the age of 11, will have memory impacted by the behaviors of all the defendants for the false claims done on his mother, and for the parental alienation of the close relationship of the minor child.”
The case was dismissed by a judge.