Survivors and community members at Florida State University came together to grieve and support each other at a vigil that drew thousands after two people were killed and more were injured in an April 17 campus shooting.
The shooting, believed to be carried out by a student, left the Tallahassee campus reeling.
“We’re family. Hard moments like these … we show up for one another,” University President Richard McCullough said at the vigil on the evening of April 18, choking back tears. “We need to keep doing that over the next weeks. Reach out, listen, be kind, be there.”
The two men killed were identified by family members and close friends as dining vendor executive Tiru Chabba and dining services employee Robert Morales. Those injured haven’t been identified, but they include students, authorities have said.
Six people, including students, were injured in the attack and sent to a local hospital. They are all expected to fully recover, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare officials said.
The shooting began close to noon on April 17. Police said the suspect, 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, opened fire near the student union and was injured by responding campus officers and apprehended within about five minutes. Those few minutes sent students scrambling for cover and barricading themselves around campus until authorities found them.
“There is no manual on how we feel when something like this happens. I’m angry, you’re angry…. I’m completely numb. Some of you are scared. I understand that,” McCullough said at the vigil. “All those feelings are normal. There’s no right response to tragedy. But I want to be clear — you’re not alone.”
Who were the victims?
Chabba, 45, was an executive for campus dining vendor Aramark. The Greenville, South Carolina, man is survived by his wife and two children, according to an attorney hired by his family. He was on campus at FSU that day for work.
“It’s inconceivable,” Larry Lee, who previously worked with Chabba at Aramark, told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. “Oh, God. I’m just telling you, man, this was a good dude. A good, good guy.”
Lee said Chabba loved his work and was a “brilliant businessman” — but that he was equally devoted to his family.
Morales was a beloved high school football coach and worked in dining services at FSU. The Miami native was identified in a post on X by his brother. “Today we lost my younger Brother, He was one of the victims killed at FSU. He loved his job at FSU and his beautiful Wife and Daughter. I’m glad you were in my Life,” the post said.
Morales worked as a special teams coach for Leon High School’s football program and was also a partner at local favorite Gordos Cuban Cuisine.
“He was a trusted coach, a respected colleague, and a cherished friend to many” the school’s athletic department said in a statement. “The loss of Coach Morales is felt deeply by all of us at Leon High School, especially during this difficult and tragic time.”
Athletic Director Riley Bell coached with Morales and described him as a having a “big heart.” He said Morales spent about six to eight years with the program and was a “valuable” member of the team, he told the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network.
“A great guy. Good heart, family man,” Bell said. “Just full of energy and very happy.”
New details about shooting suspect emerge
Ikner is the stepson of a local sheriff’s deputy and investigators believe he used the deputy’s former service weapon in the shooting. He had spent years participating in youth programs within the department.
Classmates and others who knew Ikner said he had a history of espousing extremist views. His internet history was equally troubling, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which analyzed screenshots of his gaming accounts that contained Nazi and Hitler references.
“It’s just concerning,” said Carla Hill, a senior director of investigative research at the anti-hate group’s center on extremism. “What we’re seeing – if in fact this individual has extremist views and it seems at the very least he was exposed to extremism – is the continued crossover between extremism and the glorification of violence that eventually leads to violence.”
Ikner was injured in the response to the shooting and remains hospitalized.
“Once he is released from that facility, he’ll be taken to a local detention facility, where he will face the charges up to and including first-degree murder,” Tallahassee Police Department Chief Lawrence Revell said.
Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY; Jeff Burlew and Arianna Otero, Tallahassee Democrat; Baker Maultsby, Spartanburg Herald-Journal
