Within the wake of the lethal capturing at Florida State College on Thursday, a portrait of the alleged gunman — the stepson of an area sheriff’s deputy — has emerged.
Not less than two individuals had been killed and 6 others had been injured when pictures rang out close to the Tallahassee establishment’s Scholar Union, officers mentioned throughout a press convention.
Leon County Sheriff has recognized the shooter as 20-year-old Pheonix Ikner, proven on this photograph posted to social media.
First responders shot the suspect on campus and he has since been hospitalized, officers mentioned. He was taken into custody with non-life-threatening accidents, a number of legislation enforcement officers advised ABC Information.
The suspect was recognized throughout the press convention as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner. On the press convention, authorities described Ikner because the son of Leon County Sheriff’s Deputy Jessica Ikner. Nonetheless, court docket paperwork point out she is the suspect’s stepmother.
Regulation enforcement work at Florida State College campus after a mass capturing in Tallahassee, Fla., April 17, 2025.
Alicia Devine/USA At the moment Community through Imagn Pictures through Reuters
Sheriff Walter McNeil mentioned Phoenix had entry to one in all his stepmother’s private weapons, which was one of many weapons discovered on the scene. He had a handgun and a shotgun with him on the time of the capturing, officers mentioned.
Jessica Ikner has been a deputy with the division for greater than 18 years and “her service to this neighborhood has been distinctive,” McNeil mentioned.
Florida State College campus capturing
Google Maps, Florida State College
McNeil added that the 20-year-old suspect was additionally a “long-standing member” of the Leon County Sheriff’s Workplace’s Youth Advisory Council.
Pheonix had been “steeped within the Leon County Sheriff’s Workplace household,” McNeil mentioned, including, “It isn’t a shock to us that he had entry to weapons,” he added.
Suspect was as soon as at heart of worldwide little one custody dispute
Ikner was beforehand on the heart of a protracted battle between his dad and mom that featured a custody dispute stretching from the Florida panhandle to Norway, in keeping with court docket paperwork.
On the time of the custody dispute, the suspect was a baby and was often called Christian Gunnar Eriksen. (He modified his identify in 2020 and is now recognized as Phoenix Ikner.)
Christian was taken by his organic mom to Norway in March 2015 in violation of a kid custody order, in keeping with a 2015 possible trigger affidavit from the Leon County Sheriff’s Workplace. Anne-Mari Eriksen was accused of telling Christian’s father, Christopher Ikner, that she was taking him to South Florida for spring break.
“As a substitute of staying in South Florida, the defendant allegedly fled the nation with him in violation of their custody settlement,” the affidavit says. “Mr. Ikner suggested that Christian has developmental delays and has particular wants which he feared wouldn’t be taken care of with out entry to his medical doctors right here in the USA.”
The sheriff’s affidavit mentioned the kid was on treatment for “a number of well being and psychological points, to incorporate a progress hormone dysfunction and ADHD.”
The doc said that Christian and his organic mom had been twin residents of the USA and Norway.
Christian was ultimately introduced again to the USA. His mom was arrested at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Worldwide Airport in July 2015 and later pleaded no contest to illegally eradicating a baby from Florida.
In October 2015, Anne-Mari Eriksen filed a lawsuit alleging slander and libel on behalf of herself and her son in opposition to the daddy and Christian’s stepmother, sheriff’s deputy Jessica Ikner, together with two different family members.
“The emotional and psychological hurt completed to the minor little one will likely be evident for years, and would require counseling, and given the kid being the age of 11, can have reminiscence impacted by the behaviors of all of the defendants for the false claims completed on his mom, and for the parental alienation of the shut relationship of the minor little one,” the lawsuit claimed.
The lawsuit sought greater than $80,000 in damages to make use of towards Christian’s school fund.
A choose dismissed the go well with seven months later.
An investigation into the motive of the lethal capturing is ongoing.
Police mentioned throughout the press convention that legislation enforcement’s response to the capturing was “large” and “very fast.”
“We’re working a number of crime scenes, and there are probably lots of, if not 1000’s, of witnesses,” Chief Lawrence Revell of the Tallahassee Police mentioned.
Revell additionally mentioned the suspect didn’t adjust to instructions earlier than being shot by responding officers. “I don’t imagine he fired at officers,” Revell mentioned.
ABC Information’ Aaron Katersky, Katherine Faulders and Jenny Wagnon Courts contributed to this report.
