Students from Drew Charter School in East Atlanta at FSU during shooting
Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
ATLANTA - A group of local students were on the campus of Florida State University during a deadly shooting on Thursday, according to school officials.
What we know:
Tenth-graders from Charles R. Drew Charter School in Atlanta were visiting the Tallahassee campus when a gunman opened fire.
Just after 12 p.m., the university sent out an alert for an "active shooter" in the area of the Student Union.
The students sheltered in place after the university went on lockdown.
Two people were killed during the incident and six others were injured, including the alleged gunman.
According to officials, the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, is believed to be a current FSU student and the son of a Leon County sheriff's deputy. At this time, the motive for the shooting is unknown.
What they're saying:
Drew Charter School sent the following message to families:
Dear Drew Families,
We wanted to inform you of a situation that occurred earlier today. Around noon, during our tenth graders' college visit to Florida State University (FSU), FSU activated its Active Shooter lockdown protocol in response to an active shooter on campus. During the lockdown, our students sheltered in place. Throughout the situation, all of our students and staff remained accounted for and safe. The shelter-in-place has now been lifted. A suspect has been apprehended and taken into custody.
Our Drew students and chaperones are preparing to depart from the university campus. Drew administrators are finalizing bus plans for our students and chaperones to return to Atlanta this evening.
We have shared this information with our staff, Senior Academy students, and the families of students on the trip. We will continue to keep the families of those on the trip apprised of new updates.
Let us remain Drew strong as we uplift those from our Drew community currently in Florida. We are keeping them at the center of our thoughts at this time. Our hearts also go out to all of those on FSU's campus impacted by this situation.
Drew Charter School
Charisse Richardson
Chief of Staff
Drew Charter School is located on Eva Davis Way SE in East Atlanta. Approximately 900 students attend the school.
What's next:
All FSU classes and business operations on the main campus in Tallahassee have been canceled for Friday, April 18, according to school officials.