Two people were killed and six were injured after an active shooter opened fire on the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee on Thursday, law enforcement said at a news conference, Report informs via CBS News.
The injured victims and the suspected shooter were brought to a local hospital.
The alleged gunman has been identified as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, an FSU student who is the son of a Leon County sheriff's deputy, Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil said at the briefing.
The suspect was taken into custody after being shot by police, officials said, adding that he invoked his right not to speak with police.
Investigators say the suspect used his mother's former service weapon, now owned by her as a personal handgun, which was found at the scene. They said he was also armed with a shotgun.
CBS News later learned that the sheriff's deputy is the suspect's stepmother, and that his birth parents had been engaged in a years-long custody dispute that began in 2007 and lasted until 2023.
The sheriff's deputy has been at the agency for more than 18 years and her service to the community has been exceptional, the sheriff said. "Unfortunately her son had access to one of her weapons," Sheriff McNeil said. He also said that the alleged shooter was a longstanding member of the Leon County Sheriff's Office citizen advisory or youth advisory council and engaged in a number of their training programs. He had "been steeped in the Leon County Sheriff Office's family," the sheriff said.
Police said the two people killed in the shooting were not students. The victims' names have not been released.
