A junior at Florida State watched a gunman pull up to campus and begin opening fire near the student union in what ended up being a deadly shooting at the Tallahassee university Thursday afternoon.
At least two people were killed and five people were taken to local hospitals with gunshot wounds, FSU Police Chief Jason Trumbower said at a Thursday-afternoon news conference.
The two people killed were not students, Trumbower said, and the gunman was also taken to the hospital.
A spokesperson for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare earlier told NBC News the hospital was treating patients injured in the shooting.
The gunman began shooting in the area of the student union at around 11:50 a.m., Trumbower said, adding that he shot multiple people before FSU police were able to engage, neutralize and apprehend him.
Walt McNeil, the Leon County sheriff, identified the suspect as Phoenix Ikner, 20, the son of a Leon County sheriff’s deputy. He said Ikner was able to access one of her weapons, which matched one of the weapons found at the scene.
Ikner is believed to be a student at FSU. His motive remains unclear.
Police said the weapon used was a handgun and that the shooter had a shotgun with him, but they have not yet confirmed that he shot anyone with the shotgun.
McKenzie Heeter, a junior at FSU, described seeing the gunman Thursday afternoon as she was outside the student union.
“I was leaving the union with my food. There’s a road next to it and I was walking and this guy pulls up in an orange Hummer, and he gets out with a rifle and shoots in my direction. There were a couple other kids near me,” Heeter said. “I think he was shooting and he missed. So he goes back into his car and grabs a pistol, then he turns and shoots the lady in front of him. That’s when I just started running.”
Heeter said she heard about 15 rounds fired for about 20 to 30 seconds. She said she then called the police at 11:57 a.m. to report the shooting.
She described the shooter as a “normal college dude” who was wearing an orange T-shirt and khaki shorts. She described him as white with light hair.
At first, Heeter said she thought he brought out a BB gun, but when she heard him fire she knew it was real.
“When he turned back around with the pistol, I saw him shoot the lady like right in front of him. She was probably like 5 feet in front of him with the pistol,” Heeter said. She said the woman was in purple scrubs and didn’t appear to be a student or faculty.
“It was just me and like three other people that noticed at first, but we were walking in the opposite direction away from the union, so we started running. I just told everybody that I could see, stay away from campus,” she recalled. “I ran back to my apartment as fast as I could.”
The campus was initially locked down, with FSU sending out an alert urging students to take cover and to lock doors. Students have since been allowed to return to their residence halls but have been asked to continue to avoid the student union.
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