Some Survivors of the Deadly Parkland Shooting Were Also Present During FSU Shooting

The latest in another long list of tragic school shootings occurred at Florida State University, as students, faculty, and the surrounding community are attempting to piece together what happened.

Family members of those present have taken to social media to make a heartbreaking connection between the FSU shooting and the deadly one that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 in Parkland, Florida.

School shootings throughout the country continue to be a source of extreme concern for students, parents and teachers who want to ensure that their chosen learning environment is not the source of another tragedy due to gun violence.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, a parent of a Parkland student who died in the 2018 shooting, shared that his daughter was also on campus during the shooting at Florida State University.

“America is broken. My daughter Jaime was murdered in the Parkland school shooting. Many of her friends who were lucky enough to survive that shooting went on to attend FSU,” Fred Guttenberg wrote.

“Incredibly, some of them were just a part of their 2nd school shooting and some were in the student union today,” the post continued. “As a father, all I ever wanted after the Parkland shooting was to help our children be safe. Sadly, because of the many people who refuse to do the right things about reducing gun violence, I am not surprised by what happened today.”

On Thursday, April 17, two people were killed and six others were injured during a mass shooting that occurred on the campus of Florida State University, according to USA Today.

Per the outlet, suspected gunman and FSU student Phoenix Ikner, 20, opened fire near the university’s student union around just as students were having lunch. Witnesses at the scene described the panic and terror that ensued as those in the area were running for their lives.

Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell confirmed that campus police quickly responded to the scene and shot the suspect, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries, who was then taken into police custody.

Shooting suspect Phoenix Ikner is the stepson of Leon County Sheriff’s Deputy Jessica Ikner, according to ABC News. Following the shooting, Sheriff Walter McNeil confirmed that Phoenix had access to Jessica’s personal weapons, one of which was found at the scene, per the outlet.

Authorities also said that Phoenix had both a handgun and a shotgun at the time of the shooting on campus. Sheriff McNeil said that Phoenix was a "long-standing member" of the Leon County Sheriff's Office's Youth Advisory Council and was "steeped in the Leon County Sheriff's Office family." He also said of the suspect that, "It's not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons."

Chief Revell also confirmed additional details about what happened with the suspect at the scene, saying that Phoenix did not comply with the commands of responding officers before he was shot, per ABC News. "I do not believe he fired at officers," he said.