On April 17, 2025, a tragic shooting occurred at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee. Around noon, 20-year-old political science student Phoenix Ikner opened fire near the campus’s student union, resulting in the deaths of two individuals and injuries to six others. The victims who lost their lives were identified as Tiru Chabba, a 45-year-old campus vendor and father of two, and Robert Morales, a dining services manager and former high school football coach.
Ikner, the stepson of a Leon County sheriff’s deputy, used his stepmother’s former service pistol in the attack. Authorities also discovered an AR-15 rifle and a shotgun in his vehicle. He was shot in the jaw by campus police during the incident and is currently hospitalized. Investigations revealed that Ikner had no known connection to the victims, and his motive remains unclear.
In the aftermath, FSU students and staff expressed concerns over campus safety and the university’s initial decision to resume classes shortly after the incident. Many student protests were led by survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting who now attend FSU, creating a petition with over 1,400 signatures causing the university to lift its mandatory attendance policy, allowing for remote learning options.
“It made me feel a lot better about the leadership of the school that I’m going to because they listened to the students and did what was right, which I know a lot of my friends that go there agreed with,” incoming FSU student Sam Woodward (’25) said.
The shooting has reignited debates over gun control laws in Florida, particularly proposals to lower the firearm purchasing age from 21 to 18. Survivors of the previous shootings have been vocal in urging lawmakers to maintain stricter gun regulations to prevent future tragedies.
“I was in HCB [classroom building] across from the student union at the time of the shooting and I was just in shock. I do believe that gun regulation and campus safety policy needs to be more strictly enforced. However, for this situation in particular, it unfortunately wouldn’t have changed anything,” FSU student and Robinson graduate Rocco Lleras (’24) said.
This is sadly not the first time FSU has had a shooting incident, as just over 10 years ago, FSU graduate Myron May opened fire in FSU’s Strozier Library injuring three officers.
“There’s just a lot of initial fear, I mean, you wouldn’t want anything like that to happen to anyone. When those things happen, I also feel anger at how weak someone could be. That’s their way of showing strength. That is the ultimate weakness to me. When you take a weapon into an unarmed situation and somehow that gives you strength,” AP European History teacher and FSU alumnus Kevin McCray said.
Despite the discourse over campus safety and gun regulation policy, many agree that the FSU police showed courage and valor in their immediate confrontation and detainment of Ikner. The FSU police department Chief Jason Trumbower and seven of his officers were awarded the Governor’s Medal of Heroism.
“These brave officers ran toward danger at great personal risk and potential sacrifice to protect students and staff on FSU’s campus,” Governor Ron DeSantis posted on social media April 30. “This is truly answering the call of duty and putting others first.”
Pride over the actions of the responders had a unifying effect over the FSU community, commending their bravery.
“I think it’s been phenomenal [FSU’s response]. I saw the baseball team, which I have a lot of connection to, on the Friday night game of the first series and they had like just a massive outpouring to recognize all the first responders. It was like kids day at the park. They brought probably 1000 people to the field before the game to show solidarity and recognize the people that responded so quickly. It was a really cool thing,” McCray said.
Overall, there have been requests for heightened campus security, yet not a large amount of blame on FSU as the situation was mostly out of their control.
“I think they should just have a key card system, which most already do. Although that works, in today’s society they kind of just have to hope that people wouldn’t commit acts of violence like that,” Woodward said.
As the FSU community begins the long process of healing, we must remember that behind the headlines are real people whose lives have been changed forever and we need to be sensitive and respectful. Our thoughts remain with the victims, their loved ones, and everyone affected by this senseless act of violence. In grief, the campus stands united, not only in sorrow, but in the shared hope for healing, accountability and meaningful change.
