TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – All Florida State classes will be cancelled Friday following Thursday’s fatal mass shooting. Students are encouraged to go home and stay with their family.
Investigators said two people were killed and six others were injured. Detectives said the 20-year-old defendant was injured by police in the shootout.
“I heard 12 shots go off”: FSU student recalls shooting and miserable escape
FSU student Shayna Nickvarz recalled the horror and confusion that unfolded near the Student Union just before noon Thursday. “I heard what I cried, but we saw my heart falling down, like a girl legalized by the police and placed on an ambulance stretcher.
Investigators said the two killed were not students, and some of the six injured were students. “This is clearly a heinous crime. Our deepest pacific dol opinion comes to the families of students here,” said Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeill.
According to McNeill, Phoenix Echner is the accused shooter. He said the 20-year-old is the son of an 18-year-old veteran in his office.
Things you need to know about the shooting at Florida State University
“She does the incredible work she has done. Her service to this community was exceptional. Unfortunately, her son has access to one of her weapons,” McNeill said.
Additionally, the sheriff reports that the suspect is known to many in the law enforcement community. He said, “The alleged shooter suspects have also been a longtime member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office Youth Advisory Board, which has oozed into families at the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.”
Students want to understand why this happened on campus.
“In some way, in some way, in some way, in a form or form, like a red flag or a sign, it was like it was really sad. You know, no one really knows that they’ve seen them, and I don’t know, that’s not true.
