Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell provided an update on the conditions of the victims in the wake of, what he called, a “heinous and despicable act of violence.”

Earlier in the day, police said two people, who were not students, were killed in the shooting. In an evening statement, Revell identified them as men but gave no further information.

Five other victims were struck by gunfire while a sixth person was injured while attempting to run away from the shooting, he said. No further information about the victims has been released.

The 20-year-old suspect, Phoenix Ikner, remains hospitalized with “serious but non-life-threatening injuries.”

The crime scenes have been processed and the investigation remains open and active. The police department “is committed to bringing justice to the victims in this case,” the police chief said.

Ikner’s former classmate says he was “shocked” to learn he was named a suspect.

“I was a bit shocked,” Nicholas Lobo, 19, told NBC News. Lobo and Ikner both attended Tallahassee State College last semester before they both transferred to FSU. The pair were in the same “political discourse group,” according to the outlet.

“I was driving when I saw someone message me and his name, and, like, I remembered it,” Lobo said, noting he didn’t know the suspect well.

Ikner tended to take more conservative positions, but wasn’t considered radical, Lobo said.

“He was pretty normal. He was nice,” he added.

“It’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons,” Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil said at Thursday’s press conference.

The suspect, 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, is the son of a deputy and was involved in the sheriff’s office Youth Advisory Council, McNeil said.

Years earlier, a fellow teen involved in the group said he never discussed firearms.

Jacob West, 18, and Ikner were part of the group in 2021-2022.

Ikner was always “in good spirits” and always proposing “really good ideas to help Leon County,” West told the New YorkTimes. “He never spoke about guns or anything.”

The shooting suspect allegedly espoused “white supremacist rhetoric” and was removed from a political club, NBC News reported.

Reid Seybold told the outlet that he and Ikner both attended Tallahassee State College before they transferred to FSU. Seybold was president of the “political round table” club.

At some point, Ikner was asked not to come back due to his controversial views, Seybold told the outlet.

“Basically our only rule was no Nazis — colloquially speaking — and he espoused so much white supremacist rhetoric, and far-right rhetoric, as well, to the point where we had to exercise that rule,” Seybold said.

Seybold was in a building not far from the area where the shooting transpired; he said he heard gunshots. He texted everyone he loved, telling them how he felt: “I was getting ready to die.”

FSU President Richard McCullough issued a statement in the wake of the tragedy that left two dead and six injured.

“We are heartbroken. We are grieving with the families, friends, and loved ones of those who were lost. We are holding close those who are injured, and we are standing by everyone who is hurting,” he wrote on Thursday evening on X.

You can read his full message here.

All six patients injured during the shooting are in fair condition, the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital told the Associated Press.

The news comes after the hospital said one individual was in critical condition.

The identities of the victims has not been released. But police said earlier Thursday that the two individuals killed in the shooting were not students.

The suspected shooter is also currently receiving medical care; his condition is not currently known.

The father of a Parkland victim says his late daughter’s friends attend FSU.

Fred Guttenberg’s daughter Jaime was killed during the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Now, her classmates have gone on to face a second school shooting in a seven-year span.

“America is broken. My daughter Jaime was murdered in the Parkland school shooting. Many of her friends who were lucky enough to survive that shooting went on to attend FSU,” Guttenberg said.

“Incredibly, some of them were just a part of their 2nd school shooting and some were in the student union today,” he continued in a post on X. “As a father, all I ever wanted after the Parkland shooting was to help our children be safe. Sadly, because of the many people who refuse to do the right things about reducing gun violence, I am not surprised by what happened today.”

Phoenix Ikner, 20-year-old suspect, is now in police custody; he is a student at FSU majoring in political science.

Ikner was also a long-standing member of the LCSO youth advisory committee, McNeil said, and was “steeped” in the “family” of the sheriff’s office.

He added that it was “not a surprise” that Ikner had access to firearms, given his mother’s job.

According to online records, Ikner lives in Tallahassee, and registered as a Republican in 2022. He last voted in November 2024, according to the records. Earlier this year he was interviewed by FSU News about anti-Trump protests taking place on the campus.

“I think it’s a little too late, he’s [Trump] already going to be inaugurated on January 20 and there’s not really much you can do unless you outright revolt, and I don’t think anyone wants that,” he told the outlet at the time.

“My heart breaks for Florida State University,” Gabby Giffords said on X. “It’s horrifying that students who survived the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School seven years ago just lived through another. The constant gun violence must stop.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is praying for the entire Florida State community, he said in a video on X. The suspect “must and will be brought to justice to the fullest extent of the law,” the governor added.

“My heart goes out to everyone affected by the shooting at Florida State University,” Florida Congresswoman Frederica Wilson said in an X post. “Our places of learning should never be the target of violence—this should not be the reality on our campuses.”

Florida State Rep. Michele K. Rayner issued a statement in the wake of the shooting. “As an alumna of Florida State University and a current member of the Florida Legislature, I am heartbroken and deeply troubled by the tragic events that unfolded on FSU’s campus,” Rayner said.

“Our schools, colleges, and universities must be sanctuaries of safety and learning—not places marked by fear and violence. Once we have all the facts, we must respond with urgency and resolve to ensure that no community in Florida has to endure a tragedy like this again,” the state representative added.

Speaking at the press conference, Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil said that Phoenix Ikner, the 20-year-old suspected shooter, was involved in the law enforcement community. He was involved in the sheriff’s office’s Youth Advisory Council.

“This event is tragic in more ways than you people in the audience could ever fathom from a law enforcement perspective,” McNeil said. “But I will tell you this, we will make sure that we do everything we can to prosecute and make sure that we send a message to folks that this will never be tolerated here in Leon County, and I dare say, across this state and across this nation.”