Authorities Arrest Son of Sheriff’s Deputy After Shooting at FSU Campus
The son of a local sheriff’s deputy allegedly opened fire on Florida State University’s (FSU’s) campus in Tallahassee on 17 April, killing two people and injuring six others before being taken into custody.
Authorities said the suspect is believed to have acted alone and that there is no remaining threat to the FSU community. University officials, however, canceled classes for the remainder of the week and postponed athletic events planned for the weekend.
Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil confirmed the identity of the suspect as that of Phoenix Ikner, 20, the son of a Leon County sheriff’s deputy who has served on the force for 18 years. Ikner, who was well known to the department, allegedly used one of his mother’s former service weapons to carry out the shooting. The motive for the shooting, however, remains unknown at this time.
Ikner “has been steeped in the Leon County sheriff’s family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have…so it’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons,” McNeil said in a press conference on Thursday. One of those programs that Ikner was involved in is the Leon County Sheriff’s Office Youth Advisory Council, which provides the county’s young people an active role in addressing youth issues.
Thursday’s attack began at around 11:50 a.m. local time when a shooter opened fire on FSU’s main campus near the student union. The FSU Police Department responded immediately, engaging the suspect and opening fire when he refused to drop his weapons. The suspect was then transported to a local hospital to receive medical attention and is said to not have life threatening injuries.
FSU officials confirmed that the two individuals who were killed in the shooting were not FSU students. Authorities have not yet released the identities of any of the victims.
FSU President Richard McCullough praised the quick response by local first responders, including FSU’s Police Department, which 26-year veteran Jason Trumbower was promoted to lead just last week. The FSU Police Department is a fully accredited law enforcement agency that employs roughly 91 sworn officers in Tallahassee and Panama City, Florida.
“Someone called it in and immediately they responded to the scene and immediately neutralized the suspect, and prevented this from being a bigger tragedy,” McCullough said about the department's actions in a press conference late Thursday afternoon.
McCullough added in a statement published Thursday evening that FSU leadership is working with law enforcement and mental health professionals to ensure that everyone is provided support, including contacts at the FSU Counseling & Psychological Services.
“There will be more updates in the days ahead, and more time to reflect and heal,” McCullough wrote. “But now, we mourn together. We lean on one another. And we remember who we are. We are Florida State. We are a family. And we stand together.”
Investigators recovered a shotgun and a handgun at the scene of the shooting. The handgun was a former service weapon used by Ikner’s mother, which McNeil said she had purchased for personal use when the department upgraded its service weapons—a common practice among law enforcement officers.
McNeil added that Ikner’s mother will not be placed on leave at this time and that she has done a “tremendous job” in her role as a deputy. An investigation will continue, though, into how Ikner obtained access to her weapon and what other weapons he might have had access to.
Jeffrey A. Slotnick, CPP, PSP, president of Setracon Inc. and a Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) Firearms Instructor Program Lead, spoke with Security Management after news of the shooting broke.
“At no point should a child or an adult child have access to your firearm,” Slotnick says, adding that it is typical for law enforcement agencies to have requirements for how officers secure and store their weapons when not in use for work.
Many law enforcement agencies also provide firearms storage solutions that officers can use to secure their weapons when not in duty if they do not want to take them home with them, Slotnick says.
It is not clear what requirements the Leon County Sheriff'’s Office has for secure weapons storage when officers are not on duty. The Leon County Sheriff’s Public Information Office did not respond to Security Management’s request for comment on this article about its requirements.
Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Gun Violence Solution’s Safe Storage Model Policy Guide found that in approximately 74 percent of school shooting incidents, “the firearm used by the shooter was obtained from their own home or the home of a close friend or family member.”
Johns Hopkins researchers also assessed that more than 350,000 firearms are stolen in the United States each year. These firearms are also more than “nine times as likely to be recovered at a crime scene as compared to non-stolen firearms,” according to the guide.
Kevin Jones, CPP, a site security manager, says firearms safety and proper storage is paramount for people who carry a firearm for their job or legally have them for personal use. Each year there are approximately 27,000 unintentional firearm injuries in the United States, and many of those are because of unauthorized people handling a firearm, he adds.
“As a former police officer and armed security professional, I carry a firearm daily,” Jones says. “I also have young children in my home. When my firearm is not on me and in my control, it’s safely stored in a gun safe. The purpose of secure gun storage is to prevent unauthorized people from taking the firearm—this includes children and potential burglars. Storing a firearm in a safe is also a great idea when guests come over or alcohol is being consumed.”
There are a wide range of secure storage options for firearms, including biometric safes that allow quick access utilizing a thumbprint. Some of these safes are smaller, so Jones says it is important to mount them securely to the wall or floor so an unauthorized person cannot easily steal the safe and its contents.
“Larger safes can be utilized for gun collections and guns that are not required to be immediately employed for defense or work,” Jones says. “They are much heavier and often will have a level of fire protection. A word of caution here is to remember that these safes should also be mounted securely to the floor and wall. Many safe companies will not warranty the safe if it isn’t mounted. Likewise, homeowner’s insurance may not cover it as well.”
Jones also stresses that you should not store a firearm in your vehicle—a popular target for thieves.
“In the rare case that firearms must be left in a vehicle, a security professional should consider hidden vehicle safes,” he explains. “Companies make them for many vehicles and models—something like a center console safe.”
Other firearm storage guidance includes potentially unloading the firearm before storing it, using cable locks to make firearms nonoperational, and keeping firearm safe combinations and keys private. Jones also suggests refraining from placing firearms-related stickers or signs on your personal property, including your vehicle, to avoid advertising that you have a firearm nearby.
“Lastly, one of the most important aspects of firearms safety is identifying concerning behavior and warnings signs in the people around us,” Jones says. “These warning signs are behavioral red flags and psychological patterns of a person who may commit violence with a firearm. Consider educating yourself further in this concept through Dr. Peter Langman’s book, Warning Signs.
“Combining all these things can prevent unwanted people from utilizing a firearm in a dangerous manner—firearms safety education, safe and secure storage, and identifying warning signs in the people around you,” Jones continues.
Thursday’s shooting is the second shooting on FSU’s campus. The first occurred in 2014 when a gunman shot three people at the university’s Strozier Library.
The gunman “a 2005 FSU graduate and attorney, reloaded at least once and tried to enter the library but was blocked by lobby security barriers that permit only students and staff inside,” according to the Associated Press coverage of the incident. “Police responded and fired off a barrage of bullets that killed him. FSU officials noted the security barriers were put in place in late 2008 after May had already left the school.”
