A planned police tactical training exercise on Thursday at Florida State University turned into a real-life tragedy when a gunman —identified as 20-year-old student Phoenix Ikner — opened fire on campus shortly after the drill began.
Armed with a shotgun, he killed two people and wounded six others. Students barricaded doors and ran as gunshots rang out.
“We immediately did as we were taught to do in high school, ” student Reid Seybold told reporters. “We turned off the lights, locked the doors and barricaded the doors.”
The shooter, the stepson of a local sheriff’s deputy, was eventually shot by authorities after a two-hour lockdown. Governor Ron DeSantis expressed solidarity with the university, which faced a similar tragedy in 2014.
