Madison Askins, an FSU student injured in the April 17 shooting, was identified as the woman in a viral video walking past a shot victim while sipping her Starbucks coffee
Authorities announced at a news conference Thursday night that Phoenix Ikner was the gunman in the Florida State University (FSU) incident. However, in the midst of the fatal mass shooting, a video of a girl walking past a shooting victim unbothered while she sipped on her coffee went viral with her now identified as Florida State University Student Madison Askins.
Who is Madison Askins as video of FSU student sipping Starbucks coffee while passing past Florida shooting victim goes viral
23-year-old FSU student Madison Askins has said she was running for her life when she fell and added that as her friend tried to help her up, she was shot in the rear.
“At one point I did think [the gunman] had walked away, so I was going to shift over to grab my phone to share my last ‘I love you’s’ with my family.”
Askins says she played dead so the gunman would ignore her, “I heard the gunman come up next to me, and I heard him reload. There was a clip at my feet when everything was said and done.”
Askins also contemplated calling her parents. “In case I passed away,” she said. “I started to spiral a little bit.” She refrained when she realized the shooter, later identified as Phoenix Ikner, was standing directly above her. “I remember him saying, ‘Yeah, keep running,’” Askins recalled. “I heard the shooter come up next to me, and I heard him reload. There was a clip at my feet when everything was said and done.”
Phoenix Ikner is a member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Youth Advisory Council. Ikner used a deputy’s gun in the shooting, according to the police, and the weapon was found at the site.
Authorities think the suspect’s mother lawfully bought one of her old military firearms, which by the time of the shooting had been her personal belongings.
“This event is tragic in more ways than you people in the audience could ever fathom from a law enforcement perspective,” Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil said at the press conference. “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.”
Who is Phoenix Ikner?
Phoenix Ikner is a 20-year-old Florida State University (FSU) student at the moment. He is majoring in political science. He is the son of Jessica Ikner, a Leon County Sheriff’s Office school resource officer. According to The New York Post, Phoenix Ikner was a member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office’s Youth Advisory Council.
Phoenix Ikner is registered as a Republican in Florida, per voter registration data. According to Florida State University’s student publication, FSUNews.com, he took part in a demonstration against President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. The source had previously quoted him in one of its reports, but after the shooting event on Thursday, the quote was taken off.
Alleged social media identities connected to Ikner started making the rounds online shortly after the suspect was identified by the authorities. He looked to be attending anti-Trump demonstrations close to the FSU campus, according to screenshots of posts on X.
Shortly after 12:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, the incident was reported. The FSU campus “has been secured,” the Tallahassee Police Department declared on X (previously Twitter) at 4:10 p.m.
The department stated that “multiple law enforcement agencies remain on site for the ongoing investigation.” “The area around the Student Union is still regarded as an active crime scene. For any reason, people should not go back to the region.
Police also stated that “busing is underway to help students reach the reunification point at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Centre.”
Police revealed during a press conference that the incident claimed the lives of two persons and injured six others and the victims who were fatally shot were Tiru Chabba, an executive with Aramark, and Joseph Morales, a dining hall coordinator at FSU.