# Shooter at Florida State University in Tallahassee {April 17, 2025} **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [April 17, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141 "2025-04-17T17:53:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/1 "2025-04-17T17:53:09Z")
> **[Suspect in custody in Florida State shooting, source tells AP](https://apnews.com/article/florida-state-university-shooter-alert-bf66a24ea91959697c7138089b2ef6fb)** > > A suspect has been taken into police custody and multiple victims were reported in a shooting at Florida State University, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. > **[FSU shooting: Six injured, one critically; man arrested; campus locked down](https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2025/04/17/active-shooter-reported-at-fsu-shelter-in-place-alert-sent-out/83139928007/)** > > There is an active shooter on Florida State University Campus, according to an alert sent front the university. I haven’t seen any information on the motive or the suspect–or even if there was more than the one suspect already arrested. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/2 "2025-04-17T18:21:16Z")
🎶 Freedom’s just another word for more lives to lose…🎶 ---
**Author:** ![Theios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e8c25b/32.png) [@Theios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theios)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/3 "2025-04-17T18:41:43Z")
Yeah. The building I ended up hiding in is still locked down. I was on my lunch walk and heard the shots from the building. Was very surreal as we were all running as fast and as far as we could. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/4 "2025-04-17T18:43:32Z")
Wow. I’m glad you’re okay. ---
**Author:** ![Theios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e8c25b/32.png) [@Theios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theios)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/5 "2025-04-17T21:04:06Z")
Eventually was allowed to leave the building. took a while to find a way back to my car due to heavy officer presence who were cordoning off an area near the event. I will say that FSU is very good at emergency response in getting out the message to shelter, although I’m only used to this for tornadoes in the past. The police response was immediate and aggressive. I heard sirens coming our way just as soon as I sprinted my first block away from the scene. At that point, campus went on lockdown and me and my group were taken in my the staff at one of the colleges. I’m thankful for the professionalism of our local law enforcement as well as the kindness of the staff at the College of Music who gave us all shelter. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/6 "2025-04-17T21:17:22Z")
Two killed, six others injured. ☹ [https://www.npr.org/2025/04/17/nx-s1-5368177/fsu-shooting-injures-multiple-people](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/17/nx-s1-5368177/fsu-shooting-injures-multiple-people) Updated April 17, 2025 5:04 PM ET > … > Shortly after 3 p.m., the [university said](https://x.com/FSUAlert/status/1912948825456869566), “Law enforcement has neutralized the threat.” Authorities also lifted the lockdown for most of the campus, except for [nine buildings](https://x.com/FSUAlert/status/1912955662835073442) that are still an “active crime scene.” > > Authorities identified the alleged gunman as Phoenix Ikner, the son of a current and longtime Leon County deputy. Sheriff Walter McNeil says the 20-year-old suspect had access to one of the deputy’s personal handguns, and it was found at the scene along with a shotgun. The sheriff says the suspect, who was an FSU student, was well-known to the department and had participated in several training programs, including as a member of the department’s ‘youth advisory council’. > … ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/7 "2025-04-17T23:16:08Z")
Hmm. That’s a real bundle of budding controversy there. Dude be whack. And now whacked. The rest is details. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/8 "2025-04-17T23:18:51Z")
@Theios, that’s the scariest thing I’ve read. I can’t picture the trauma of being there but know it’s life changing. ---
**Author:** ![Theios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e8c25b/32.png) [@Theios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theios)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/9 "2025-04-18T00:25:37Z")
I think I might be broken. My friends and family are reaching out to me as if I must be traumatized having been that close to the shooting… but I honestly feel nothing. even as I was running, I just felt like… yeah. I guess this is happening now. why not ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/10 "2025-04-18T00:39:03Z")
I would expect you to have a delayed reaction. You’re probably still in some kind of shock. If the school offers supportive counseling related to this, I strongly urge you to take advantage. And let your friends and family fuss over you for a while. Take care. This was a Big Deal. Really. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/11 "2025-04-18T00:47:00Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I would expect you to have a delayed reaction. You’re probably still in some kind of shock Yes, this. Plus, there’s not a “right” or “normal” way to feel about this. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/12 "2025-04-18T00:49:41Z")
> [@Theios](#): > > I think I might be broken. My friends and family are reaching out to me as if I must be traumatized having been that close to the shooting… but I honestly feel nothing. even as I was running, I just felt like… yeah. I guess this is happening now. why not Just feel how you feel, there is no right or wrong response. How you feel is how you feel, it may change and that’s fine too. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/13 "2025-04-18T14:01:42Z")
ISTM a lot of people desperately want to make these events into life-altering traumatic experiences no matter how tangentially someone is involved. You’re in a classroom hiding under a desk while a madman is standing in the door blazing away into the room, then he runs down the hall after killing half the class but by great good luck not you? Sure. Plenty of traumatic memory / nightmare fuel there. You hear the sound of gunfire 3 blocks away and run a couple blocks the other way & go into some randomly selected building? Sounds like every Friday night in the 'hood. I wasn’t there for this one, but it sounds like @Theios’s participation was closer to my second example than my first. In which case having little to no reaction is having IMO the right amount of reaction. The rest is performative anxiety-mongering. A habit to be scorned not encouraged. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/14 "2025-04-18T14:08:04Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > the right amount of reaction You can tell from here what the “right amount of reaction” should be? Pretty impressive. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Sounds like every Friday night in the 'hood. I have never lived in the 'hood. I’ve never heard a gunshot from a gun that was aimed at a human being. * * * NOTE: This didn’t start out as a Breaking News thread, but I see it now has that tag. Does that make both my and @LSLGuy’s comments out of line? ---
**Author:** ![Theios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e8c25b/32.png) [@Theios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theios)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/15 "2025-04-18T14:17:53Z")
When the shooting started, I wasn’t sure where the gunman was, but I knew I was too close and needed to run. Today I find out that the shooting started outside near where I was walking and I was definitely close enough to have been hit by a stray bullet. This freaked me out a little more. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/16 "2025-04-18T15:58:01Z")
Moderating: > [@LSLGuy](#): > > In which case having little to no reaction is having IMO the right amount of reaction. The rest is performative anxiety-mongering. A habit to be scorned not encouraged. Not only is this attacking the poster, in general, telling people their emotional reaction is “to be scorned” is being a jerk. Knock it off. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/17 "2025-04-18T18:55:35Z")
> [@Theios](#): > > I think I might be broken. My friends and family are reaching out to me as if I must be traumatized having been that close to the shooting… but I honestly feel nothing. even as I was running, I just felt like… yeah. I guess this is happening now. why not I’m not sure your (non) reaction suggests you are broken. I think that humans are generally capable of tolerating and overcoming considerable trauma and adversity. But different people respond differently. Some people seem relatively unphased by trauma they directly experienced. Others seem to have difficulty overcoming experiences which may seem considerably less traumatic - or which they only heard about. I urge you to do what feels right to you. Don’t let others tell you how you ought to feel or act. I’m glad you are well. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/18 "2025-04-18T19:30:35Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I urge you to do what feels right to you. Don’t let others tell you how you ought to feel or act. Thirded or fourthed. Good to know you were safe, **Theios** , and as others said, how you feel will likely vary as time progresses. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/19 "2025-04-18T20:49:25Z")
The one thing anyone can tell you for sure is that you’ll react the way you react. I hesitate to use the word “normal”, but reactions ranging the whole gamut from no reaction at all, to going full-on panic breakdown, are none of them particularly uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooter-at-florida-state-university-in-tallahassee-april-17-2025/1017141/20 "2025-04-18T22:27:48Z")
Some more info about the shooter, who seems to be a right wing extremist: > **[What we know about the Florida State University shooting suspect | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/17/us/florida-state-university-shooting-phoenix-ikner-invs/index.html)** > > The suspect accused of gunning down two people and injuring five others at Florida State University spent time training with law enforcement and serving on a sheriff’s advisory council in the years before his alleged attack, authorities say.