The shooter’s parent revealed they had not been in contact for years before he killed people and injured others during the recent Florida shooting.

Phoenix Ikner is the suspected gunman behind the deadly shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee on April 17, 2025. The attack left two people dead and six others injured. Among those killed were Roberto Morales and Tiru Chabba, both fathers who worked in the food service industry.

Ikner reportedly left a parking lot shortly before noon and opened fire minutes later. A 911 call came in at 11:58 a.m., and officers quickly responded, arresting the 20-year-old, who was injured and found with a gun registered to his stepmother — a deputy with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.

Following Ikner’s swift arrest, more details about his past began to surface. His biological mother, Anne-Mari Eriksen, who lives in Tallahassee, shared that she had not seen him in years due to a long-standing custody dispute with his father.

In 2015, she was arrested for kidnapping after bringing her son back from Norway. “I was alienated from him,” she said, adding, “I have been concerned for him in the past, but I would never have thought that.”