Florida State University shooting suspect thought Rosa Parks was ‘wrong’ and Black people were ruining his neighborhood

FSU shooting suspect Phoenix Ikner was known for his controversial views and as a student who “espoused so much white supremacist rhetoric.”

The suspect in a mass shooting yesterday at Florida State University opened fire on the college campus at 11:50 AM local time, but according to his classmates, he had crossed the line before.

After officials identified the shooter as the son of a sheriff, Phoenix Ikner, 20, who killed two and left six injured in the melee, his classmates are speaking out to fill in the picture of who he was.

Ikner, who changed his name from Christian Gunner Eriksen to Phoenix Ikner in 2020, was known by some as a “normal college dude,” according to NBC News. However, others, including FSU senior Reid Seybold, claim Ikner “espoused” white supremacist ideals.

Seybold knew Ikner from a political debate club at Tallahassee State College, where he attended for two years before transferring to FSU. He told the outlet that Ikner “espoused so much white supremacist rhetoric and far-right rhetoric, as well,” that he was ultimately asked not to return.

Another member of the group and current president, Riley Pusins, confirmed to NBC that Ikner supported President Donald Trump’s political agenda and often touted white supremacist ideals even though the club was nonpartisan.

Pusins added how many in the club considered the suspect a fascist. He said that after the meetings, the suspect would often make more “inappropriate” comments. According to the current club president, Ikner would “go up to the line” in meetings and then cross the line in discussions later.

Ikner was known for his controversial views inside the classroom as well. 

“I got into arguments with him in class over how gross the things he said were,” Lucas Luzietti, a politics student who shared a class with Ikner, told USA TODAY.

According to Luzietti, Ikner lauded right-wing conspiracy theories and “hateful ideas.” He reportedly pushed theories like former President Joe Biden gained the office illegally, “Rosa Parks was in the wrong” and Black people were ruining his neighborhood. 

“I remember thinking this man should not have access to firearms,” Luzietti told the outlet, adding, “What are you supposed to do? His mother was a cop and Florida doesn’t have very strong red flag laws.”

Red flag laws, currently on the books in 21 states and the District of Columbia, can enable someone who is worried about a gun owner posing a danger to themselves to others to have the authorities seize the weapons. 

In January, a week before the inauguration, Ikner was quoted in FSU’s student newspaper in a story about anti-Trump protests happening on campus. January was also the last time he attended the debate club. 

The rally, organized by Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society, called for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip and “racist attacks on immigrants,” according to the article.

“These people are usually pretty entertaining, usually not for good reasons,” said Ikner, who was listed as a political science major, according to an archived online report from FSUnews.com. “I think it’s a little too late, he’s [Trump] already going to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 and there’s not really much you can do unless you outright revolt, and I don’t think anyone wants that.”

After the shooting on Thursday, the student newspaper removed Ikner’s quote from the article “at the decision of our editors to maintain ethical journalistic standards and avoid amplifying the voice of an individual responsible for violence.”

While speaking to NBC News, despite what Seybold did know about Ikner, he was still trying to wrap his head around why his classmate opened fire yesterday afternoon.

“I don’t know why he would have done something like this,” Seybold said. “I don’t know where it would have come from, but I’d sure like to find out.”