Questions emerge about how a deputy’s stepson became the accused gunman in deadly FSU shooting

TALLAHASSEE Fla AP Amid the abandoned chemistry notes and other debris left behind after a deadly shooting at Florida State University are lingering questions about how the stepson of a beloved sheriff s deputy tasked with school safety at a middle school became the accused gunman Political science aspirant Phoenix Ikner was a long-standing member of a sheriff s office youth advisory council and was steeped in the family-like civilization of the agency When officers rushed to the university s candidate union on reports of gunfire bureaucrats say it was the -year-old who used his stepmother s former amenity weapon to open fire killing two men and wounding six others As people fled in terror Ikner was shot and taken into custody He invoked his right not to speak to investigators and his motive remains unknown as he lies in a hospital bed The prosecutor s office is weighing practicable charges as stories emerge about a darker side One classmate recalled him being kicked out of a learner club over comments that other members uncovered troubling This is horrific Jimmy Williams the chief of safety for Leon County Schools reported of the shooting This is a horrible horrible event Williams who has known Ikner s stepmother Jessica Ikner for a decade disclosed the charges underscore that none of us are immune to tragedy Classes and business operations will resume Monday Florida State reported over the weekend I know it won t feel like a normal week FSU President Richard McCullough disclosed in message to students and employees Saturday It s the last one before finals and various of you are still processing what happened Please take care of yourself Suspect is the stepson of a beloved deputy His stepmother whose own alma mater is Florida State was reassigned from her position as a school pool officer Friday and granted the personal leave she requested a sheriff s office spokesperson informed The Associated Press When the alert went out of an functioning shooter at Florida State University Jessica Ikner was on duty around miles kilometers away at Raa Middle School A sheriff s office spokesperson explained Jessica Ikner worked to secure the campus to prevent anyone from entering as Raa went into lockout mode along with all of the county s society schools She was practiced at this work Last year she was named an employee of the month by the sheriff s office where she has worked for years Police mentioned they maintained Phoenix Ikner shot the casualties using his stepmother s former institution handgun which she had kept for personal use after the force upgraded its weapons Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil described Phoenix Ikner on Thursday as having been steeped in the Leon County Sheriff s Office family and engaged in a number of sheriff s office training programs adding that it wasn t a surprise that he would have access to guns There was no record of him having a criminal record And in Florida training and a background check are not required to carry concealed guns in inhabitants Custody disputes and name change in his childhood When Ikner was a child his parents were involved in several custody disputes with his biological mother court records show In when he was his biological mother Anne-Mari Eriksen mentioned she was taking him to South Florida for spring break in but instead traveled to Norway After returning to the U S she pleaded no contest to removing a minor from the state against a court order and was sentenced to days in jail She later moved to vacate her plea but that was denied In the fall of that same year Eriksen filed a civil libel-slander complaint against Jessica Ikner along with several other family members The complaint which was later dismissed accused them of harassing Eriksen and abusing Ikner s position at the sheriff s office In at age the suspect received court approval to change his name from Christian Eriksen to Phoenix Ikner court documents show His old name was a constant reminder of a tragedy he suffered in the words of administrative magistrate James Banks who approved the request NBC News revealed Banks observed that Ikner was a mentally emotionally and physically mature young adult who is very articulate and very polite mentioned he chose the new name as a representation of rising from the ashes anew Classmate says there were concerns about the accused shooter Reid Seybold and his classmates were working on a group project in a building located a short three-minute walk from the pupil union when someone ran in and warned them about the gunfire They huddled together the -year-old mentioned frantically firing off what they thought might be their final text messages to loved ones When Seybold identified out who the suspect in the shooting was that it was someone he knows he was overcome with anger Seybold was the president of a club that Phoenix Ikner joined when they were both studying at the local region college now called Tallahassee State College He would complain about Black people pretty regularly especially when conversations of police brutality would come up Seybold mentioned Seybold commented Ikner was known for espousing racist and white supremacist views that so alienated other members that the club required him to leave the group He made people that uncomfortable reported Seybold who now also is studying political science at Florida State I personally know him to have complained about how multiculturalism and communism are ruining America Pathway to violence A key part of the inquiry will likely focus on what might have led to what experts call the pathway to violence announced Kenneth Trump president of National School Safety and Precaution Services a Cleveland-based consulting firm The question is what was the motivation what was the grievance explained Trump who wrote the book Practical School Assurance Basic Guidelines for Safe and Secure Schools He s not related to the U S president Usually they build up over time through chosen type of grievance against people Trump declared The questions in the upcoming days are were there warning signs what were those warnings signs and if they were there who knew Accused shooter transferred to Florida State from population college Ikner transferred to Florida State after earning an associate degree at the society college school administrators commented He didn t attract the attention of the school paper other than commenting in a FSU story about a rally on campus against President Donald Trump Ikner a registered Republican described the protesters as entertaining because Trump was already set to be inaugurated The comments have since been removed from the story an editor s note saying the move was to avoid amplifying the voice of an individual responsible for violence Before Ikner s Instagram was taken down his bio quoted a verse from the Old Testament book of Jeremiah Thou art my battle ax and weapons of war for with thee will I break in pieces the nations and with thee will I destroy kingdoms reads Jeremiah which scholars have interpreted to depict God s judgment on Babylon The empire is a symbol in the Bible of sinfulness and immorality Deputy s family has stayed quiet for now A Tallahassee Police Department patrol car was stationed Thursday evening near the street where the family lives blocking reporters from approaching the family s home in a well-kept suburban neighborhood on the city s east side Phone messages left for Jessica Ikner at a number listed for her on a school store website and another phone connected to her through masses records were not without delay returned Friday And a sheriff s office spokeswoman commented she is not aware of the family putting out a comment or having a family spokesperson The only insight comes from the past statements Nearly a decade ago Jessica Ikner wrote a story posted on the Tallahassee Family Magazine website about children s safety while surfing the internet including tips to strengthen family bonds Build a trusting relationship with your child she wrote Let them know that if they do make a mistake they can still come to you about anything