TALLAHASSEE, FL — A grand jury has indicted a Florida State University student on murder charges in the mass shooting on campus last month that left two people dead and six others injured.
Phoenix Ikner, 20, was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder. The seven counts of attempted murder include two people he allegedly fired at but didn’t hit during the April 17 attack on the Tallahassee campus, according to the indictment released on May 14.
The grand jury’s report, obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network, revealed new details in the tragic shooting. The grand jury found that there were no “early warning” signs that Ikner, who was enrolled at FSU for the spring semester, would carry out such an attack.
The grand jury also found that the campus police officer who shot and wounded Ikner was “heroic” and acted lawfully.
“This was our community’s worst nightmare,” the report states. “We are proud to host students of all ages and now the horror of a school shooting has fallen upon us. While the results are tragic, it could have been so much worse.”
The indictment came a day after Ikner made his first court appearance. The suspect was discharged from the hospital on May 12 and was initially booked into the Leon County Detention Facility before being transferred to the Wakulla County Detention Facility, where he is held without bond.
On May 15, State Attorney Jack Campbell confirmed to media outlets that he intends to seek the death penalty against Ikner. When asked to elaborate on the decision, he told the Tallahassee Democrat he couldn’t ethically discuss the facts of the case.
“I believe it’s the right thing to do based on the facts and the law,” Campbell said.
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Ikner opened fire near FSU’s student union on April 17 and struck multiple people as students ran for cover. The shooting triggered a campus-wide lockdown and caused campus police to rush to the scene.
The grand jury, which saw surveillance and police body camera footage of the shooting, praised FSU Officer Cody Poppell, who drove his motorcycle toward the sound of gunfire and encountered Ikner during his rampage.
“We watched the panicked students running past Strozier Library, and yet he accelerated up the sidewalks so he could enter the space between Moore Auditorium and the Student Union,” the report states. “There, he could clearly see the gunman chasing and shooting at another potential victim.”
“He stopped and shot several times while still straddling his running motorcycle,” the report continued. “He struck him once in the face. There is no question others would have died absent his actions.”
Ikner was neutralized three minutes and three seconds into the attack, police said. He was transported to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, where he remained for several weeks.
Police later revealed that Ikner “was shot once, in the jaw.” He was released from the hospital on May 12, “following an extended stay and multiple surgeries” to treat the injuries he sustained during the shooting, police said.
Following his release, police arrested Ikner and booked him into the Wakulla County Detention Facility, which is holding him because his stepmother was a school resource deputy for the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. She was transferred to the property crimes division after the shooting.
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‘He merely wanted to kill as many people as possible’
According to the grand jury’s report, no evidence indicated Ikner “had the aid of any person or organization” in the shooting.
“He carried two guns. One was a 12-gauge shotgun that, blessedly, failed to properly operate. He stole this from his parents’ home. His other weapon was a .45 pistol that he stole from his father’s bedside,” the report added. “There is no evidence to support that he, or another person, knew or helped him gain this weapon.”
The report noted that the victims of the shooting were “totally random.”
Robert Morales, a 57-year-old dining coordinator at FSU, was shot and killed in the food court inside the student union. Tiru Chabba, 45, an Aramark employee from Greenville, South Carolina, was shot after Ikner exited the main entrance on the west side and fired at multiple people. Six others were injured, including five who sustained gunshot wounds and were later released from the hospital.
“He shot men and women of various ages, races, and lifestyles,” according to the report. “All evidence suggests he merely wanted to kill as many people as possible, not that he was targeting any person or group. The only consistent trait of each victim was their innocence.”
The grand jury also found that Ikner had “no history of mental health or behavioral referrals indicating him as a threat.” The grand jury added that people who knew Ikner and made claims about him in the media, such as having a history of touting radical and hateful ideas, were interviewed by police.
“In each case, they have admitted that they never observed behavior or comments that would cause them to anticipate this attack,” the report states. “Further, many have confessed that whatever his prior behavior, while rude or awkward, it never constituted a threat against any person or group.”
Contributing: Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Grand jury indicts FSU shooting suspect on murder charges
