Tallahassee, FL — Tragedy struck Florida State University when a shooting at the Student Union left two people dead and six injured. The shooting, which occurred on Thursday, has shaken the university community. The suspected shooter, Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old student at the university, was wounded during the encounter with police and is currently hospitalized.
The victims of the horrific event include Robert Morales, 57, a longtime dining services worker at FSU, and 45-year-old Tiru Chabba, a vendor at the campus. According to a law firm representing Chabba’s family, he was on campus for work when the shooting began. Chabba is mourned by his wife and two children.
According to law enforcement, five of the injured were wounded by gunfire, while a sixth suffered injuries in an attempt to escape the chaos. Tallahassee Memorial Hospital reported that all injured victims were in stable condition as of Friday, with expectations of a full recovery.
The community response was immediate and poignant, with students and faculty holding a vigil Friday evening at Langford Green to honor those affected. The university’s response included counseling services and an increased security presence on campus.
Chabba’s family, represented by attorney Bakari Sellers, expressed profound grief and shock. “This act of senseless and preventable violence has ripped a devoted husband and loving father from his family,” Sellers stated. They are pressing for justice and measures to prevent future tragedies.
Robert Morales was remembered by his brother, Ricardo Morales Jr., as a cherished family member who loved his job and his family deeply. The loss was made even more painful considering their father’s historical ties to major political events as a Cuban American CIA operative and anti-Castro militant.
In the hospital, the staff geared up for an emergency response, foreseeing the need for major trauma care. “The proximity of the hospital to the university was crucial in the swift treatment of the injured,” explained Dr. Brett Howard, who led the trauma surgery team. Three of the victims required surgery, with treatments ranging from abdominal to facial surgeries.
The FSU community is no stranger to such incidents. The medical staff recalled the previous campus shooting at the university library in 2014, noting the scale and impact of the latest tragedy was far greater.
Across the university, memorials of candles and flowers began to appear as the community came together to grieve and support the victims and their families. The incident not only caused immediate physical harm but also left a deep emotional scar on the community, prompting calls for renewed discussions on campus safety and gun control.
In an interview from her hospital bed, Madison Askins, a 23-year-old graduate student wounded in the attack, recounted her harrowing experience. She played dead to avoid further shots, describing a terrifying moment of calm as the shooter spoke and reloaded. Her survival, she said, was credited to the immediate response of law enforcement and medical personnel attending to her at the scene.
As Tallahassee and the broader FSU community begin to heal from this devastating event, the discourse around gun violence and safety regulations on campus is likely to intensify. The collective mourning is palpable as the university strives to navigate through this trauma, aiming to find paths toward healing and eventual recovery from a day marred by violence.