Florida State University (FSU) students have reacted angrily over an announcement that classes would recommence Monday after a shooting left two people dead on Thursday.
Why It Matters
Phoenix Ikner, 20, is the chief suspect in Thursday’s shooting at FSU, which left at least two people dead and seven injured, including Ikner, who was shot by law enforcement and remains hospitalized. Police say the gun used was his stepmother’s service gun, which she used in her role as a sheriff’s deputy.
What To Know
Following the shooting, college leadership issued a statement saying classes at FSU are set to resume Monday. University President Richard McCullough said the school would “be flexible” with those who don’t return to campus, with absences not needing justification.
However, FSU students told press outlets they were concerned about returning to class so soon after the incident.
“I have classes that are right by where the shooting occurred and I doubt I will be able to focus,” Madelynn Duggar, a junior who sheltered for three hours during the shooting told NBC News. “It is very difficult to focus and take exams in the same places where days before you were barricading the door and making your peace with God.”
AP Photo/Gary McCullough
Freshman Elizabeth Palmer added returning to school would be “traumatizing.”
“Even though most of us weren’t physically at the scene, we all saw it,” she said. “I can’t walk past the exact area where I saw a girl laying in a pool of blood. It’s traumatizing.”
Meanwhile, Paul Renfro, a history professor at FSU wrote an email to McCullough saying it was “inappropriate to rush back to campus.”
“We all need more time to grieve the community members we have lost and to process the chaos and confusion that engulfed our beloved campus just two days ago,” he wrote in the email which he then posted on X, formerly Twitter.
My email to FSU’s president in response to the decision to resume classes and regular campus operations early next week. To his credit, he and his team issued new guidelines (stressing flexibility) just moments ago. pic.twitter.com/zSmfR7k0CU
— Paul Renfro (@paulmrenfro) April 19, 2025
What People Are Saying
University President Richard McCullough said: “Our hearts are heavy after the tragedy that took place April 17. We are grieving with the families and friends who lost someone they love. This has shaken all of us, and I want you to know: We are here for you. Classes and business operations will resume Monday, April 21.”
President Donald Trump reacted to the shooting during an Oval Office meeting on Thursday: “It’s a horrible thing. It’s horrible that things like this take place.”
Trump added that he had been “fully briefed” and would have more to say later.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote on X as the shooting was unfolding: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”
FSU Victim Recovers
Meanwhile, Madison Askins, 23, one of the seven people shot, is recovering from her injuries in hospital.
Askins, a FSU urban and regional planning graduate student, was shot in the back while she was running from the gunfire and said she played dead to avoid being hit again.
“I know for certain if I was moving, he would’ve shot me again,” she told ABC News.
She requires surgery to remove a bullet lodged in her vertebrae, but is expected to make a full recovery.
Anger Over Coffee Video
A viral video from the scene also showed a witness drinking coffee while walking past a wounded, bleeding woman, who appears to be Askins, lying on the grass. They did not stop to help the wounded person, the video shows.
Reacting to the video, one X user called it “heartless and stupid,” while another called it “cold and heartless.”