We Knew Him”: Florida State University Mourns Victims of a Familiar Killer 💔 Florida State University is reeling. Not just because of the bullets that shattered a normal Thursday afternoon, but because of who pulled the trigger. Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old political science major, opened fire on his own campus, killing two and wounding six. The victims weren’t strangers in a far-off place. They were in the same halls, the same spaces students thought were safe. And the shooter? A student himself. A young man once quoted in the student newspaper. A face people recognized. Maybe even sat next to in class. Now, he’s the reason a vigil was held on Langford Green and the campus sits in mourning. What makes this more unsettling is what we’re learning. Phoenix was the son of a veteran sheriff’s deputy. He allegedly used her old service weapon to commit the shooting. He had access to law enforcement programs growing up. He was even part of the Youth Advisory Council—a group meant to ...
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