TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Classes and business operations are set to resume on Monday at Florida State University after a deadly mass shooting.
In a message sent on Saturday, FSU President Richard McCullough acknowledged that the community is mourning after a tragic event that occurred on April 17 when officials say a 20-year-old gunman opened fire near the student union, killing two people and wounding six others.
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“Classes and business operations will resume Monday, April 21. I know it won’t feel like a normal week. It’s the last one before finals, and many of you are still processing what happened. Please take care of yourself.”
Investigators identified the gunman as Phoenix Ikner, who the Leon County sheriff said was the son of a deputy and is also a student at the university.
The two men killed in the shooting were not students. One of the victims worked with the dining program on campus, his employer confirmed to News 6.
For those in need of support, the university urged students to reach out to their instructors for assistance with classwork or accommodations. Faculty and staff are encouraged to connect with their deans or supervisors for guidance.
Students seeking mental health support can contact the Counseling & Psychological Services team at (850) 644-TALK (8255). Additionally, the Victim Advocate Program offers free, confidential, and compassionate assistance to FSU students. They can be reached 24/7 at (850) 644-7161, via text at (850) 756-4320, or by email at Victims-Advocate@fsu.edu.
Employees requiring assistance are encouraged to contact the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at (850) 644-2288 for free, professional counseling services.
Following Saturday’s announcement, the Florida State University Democrats released a statement criticizing the university’s decision to resume classes so soon after the shooting.
“We were given a week off when the university got a few inches of snow - now we’re expected to go back to class days after a mass shooting.”
Florida State will open again for normal function on Monday, 4/21, just days after the mass shooting which killed two and injured six. With just one day off after the shooting, the university gave students nearly double the amount of time off for a few inches of snow earlier this semester.
Florida State University was not prepared for this event. The doors on our classroom buildings do not lock without an admin override. Our professors were never trained on how to respond to an active shooter situation. A majority of in-the-moment precautions were taken by students informed by years of school shooting drills in K-12. It is a miracle that more people were not killed or seriously injured.
Thoughts and prayers will do nothing to bring back the two people lost. Thoughts and prayers will do nothing to heal the people fighting to recover at TMH right now. Thoughts and prayers will do nothing to make Florida State feel safe again. This should not be a political issue, but when a lack of proactive or reactive policy costs lives, we are forced to ask how many lives are expendable before change is made?
We, as students, are asking that FSU put locks on all doors, provide training to all faculty and staff on active shooter response, and give students more time to grieve. We are asking that our state legislature, less than two miles away, add appropriations into the budget for mental health intervention programs and funding for active shooter response training on all college campuses. We are asking that in next year’s legislative cycle, our legislator amend safe-storage laws to require safe storage protocols to be followed when there is any person in a household who cannot legally obtain a firearm, not just for minors under the age of sixteen. We are asking that Congress take steps to reinstate the office of gun violence prevention.
This is not normal, this is not acceptable, and it certainly is not just “a shame” or a “fact of life”. This was an entirely preventable tragedy, and no person should ever feel what all of Florida State felt on Thursday."
Madalyn Propst, College Dems President
