Terrifying footage has captured Florida State University students running for their lives as an active shooter terrorized the campus.
Just before noon on April 17, chaos erupted at FSU’s bustling student union as gunfire shattered the calm.
Students screamed and scattered in all directions, backpacks and shoes left abandoned on the lawn.
Inside classrooms, students hid under desks, barricading doors with chairs and desks, and frantically texting their loved ones.
It was Florida’s sixth mass shooting of the year - and one that has left a lasting scar on the Tallahassee community.
The shooter has been identified as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, an FSU student and the stepson of Leon County Sheriff’s Deputy Jessica Ikner.
According to police, he used one of her former service weapons - a handgun - to carry out the attack. He also had a shotgun in his possession.
Ikner began firing between 11:56AM and 11:57AM, walking in and out of buildings and green spaces near the student union.
Within four minutes of the first shot, officers arrived and shot Ikner, who is currently hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Tallahassee Police received multiple 911 calls, and the school’s emergency alert system went into full force. By 12:02PM, students were told to shelter in place. The lockdown lasted until 3:18PM.
“Lock and stay away from all doors and windows and be prepared to take additional protective measures,” the alert warned.
Terrified students hid in dimly lit classrooms, some crying beneath desks, others praying and waiting.
“I saw this police officer with an assault rifle, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is real,’” said Holden Mamula, 20, who was in his calculus class when the shooting began.
Photos and videos show the frantic scramble. Students ran in every direction while sirens blared. Officers later evacuated buildings, guiding shaken students out with hands raised, per CNN.
In the aftermath, police tape cordoned off areas near the student union. Blood was cleaned off sidewalks, and personal items - T-shirts, a backpack, and a half-full soda bottle - remained untouched at the scene the next morning.
Two people were killed and five others injured.
The victims have since been identified as Robert Morales and Tiru Chabba - two men deeply loved by their communities.
Robert Morales, a dining coordinator at FSU, was also the founder of Gordos Cuban Cuisine, a popular local restaurant, and a devoted assistant football coach at Leon High School.
“Today we lost my younger Brother,” wrote Ricardo Morales Jr. on X. “He loved his job at FSU and his beautiful Wife and Daughter. I’m glad you were in my Life.”
FSU remembered Morales as a coach with a “true passion for mentoring young athletes.” A GoFundMe has been launched to support his family.
The second victim, Tiru Chabba, was a 45-year-old father of two from Greenville, South Carolina, and a regional vice president with Aramark Collegiate Hospitality.
“We are heartbroken to confirm that an Aramark employee was among those killed at FSU yesterday in that senseless act of violence,” Aramark said in a statement. “Our deepest sympathies are with the family and our entire Aramark community.”
Civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers, representing Chabba’s family, stated: “Instead of hiding Easter eggs and visiting with friends and family, they’re living a nightmare where this loving father and devoted husband was stolen from them in an act of senseless and preventable violence.”