After a deadly campus shooting rattled students, attention turned to the suspect’s deep ties to law enforcement — and how he accessed a deputy’s weapon.

The campus shooting at Florida State University (FSU) on Thursday, April 17, left two people dead and six others injured. The suspect — later identified as the son of a Leon County Sheriff’s deputy — had close ties to the same agency tasked with safeguarding the community.

According to The Miami Herald, 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner obtained his mother’s handgun before opening fire near the university’s student union around noon. Officers confronted and shot Ikner before taking him into custody. He was transported to a hospital for treatment and is believed to be an FSU student.

The victims included two people who were not enrolled at the university. Their names have not yet been released. The six wounded were hospitalized, though no further information on their conditions has been provided.

Authorities quickly turned their attention to the shooter’s background and how he obtained the weapon used in the attack.

“He has been steep in the Leon County Sheriff’s family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have … so it’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons,” said Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil during a Thursday afternoon press conference.

Ikner had participated in the agency’s Youth Advisory Council and other law enforcement training initiatives. His mother, a deputy assigned to a local public school, owned the handgun used in the attack.

The shooting triggered a swift law enforcement response as reports of gunfire sent students scrambling for safety. Officers arrived with weapons drawn while many on campus barricaded themselves inside classrooms and the library.

Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said no motive has yet been determined.