 "People sit in front of a makeshift memorial outside the student union at Florida State University, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Tallahassee, Fla., following a campus shooting. AP")
US President Donald Trump has called the Florida shooting incident “terrible” and a “shame” after a 20-year-old man opened fire at the State University, killing two and injuring at least six others.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Trump said, “These things are terrible. But the gun doesn’t do the shooting, the people do.”
Talking about the incident at Florida State University, Trump, whose main residence is located in Palm Beach, said that he knew the area around the university “very well”.
When asked whether his administration would work on introducing stricter gun laws after the attack, the president said, “As far as legislation is concerned, this has been going on for a long time. I have an obligation to protect the Second Amendment. I ran on the Second Amendment… and I will always protect the Second Amendment.”
The Second Amendment of the US Constitution gives citizens the right to bear arms.
Who is the shooter?
The police have identified the shooter to be a student of the university named Phoenix Ikner. He gained access to the weapon that belongs to his mother, who has been with the sheriff’s office for over 18 years and has been a model employee, said Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil.
Police said they believed Ikner shot the victims using his mother’s former service handgun, which she had kept for personal use after the force upgraded to new weapons.
Ikner was shot and wounded by the police after he refused to comply with commands.
2 killed, several injured
While the motive of Ikner’s shooting spree is unknown yet, the two people who died were not students, said Florida State University Police Chief Jason Trumbower.
The shooting began around lunchtime just outside the student union, sending frightened students and parents hiding for cover in a bowling alley and a freight elevator inside the building.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAidan Stickney, a 21-year-old studying business management, was running late to class when he said he saw a man get out of a car with a shotgun and aim at another man in a white polo shirt.
The gun jammed, Stickney said, and the shooter rushed back to his car and emerged with a handgun, opening fire on a woman. Stickney ran, warning others as he called 911.
With inputs from agencies