Tragedy Strikes Florida State University: Two Killed, Six Injured in Campus Shooting

On April 17, 2025, a gunman opened fire at Florida State University in Tallahassee, killing two men and injuring six others before being taken into custody. Both victims were fathers with deep connections to the campus and local community.

The victims have been identified as Robert Morales of Miami-Dade County and Tiru Chabba of Greenville, South Carolina.

Morales, a South Florida native, was a beloved figure in Tallahassee’s food community. A Florida State University graduate, he served as the university’s dining coordinator for nearly a decade. He was also the CEO of Black Bean Food Group since 2004 and previously coached football at nearby Leon High School. Morales played a key role in founding Gordos Cuban Cuisine, a local favorite.

Known for his warmth and dedication, Morales often prepared Cuban meals and pastries for university staff and worked closely with chefs to accommodate students with severe dietary restrictions.

“He made our dining experience feel like home for every student, especially those from South Florida,” said FSU Vice President Kyle Clark at a campus vigil. “He didn’t just do the job. He lived the job.”

On the day of the shooting, Morales had planned to meet his longtime friend Carlos Cruz and Cruz’s son at the student union, a Thursday tradition. By chance, Cruz’s son stayed in his dorm that day.

Cruz, a longtime friend who has known Morales and his family for over 30 years, praised Morales’s unwavering passion for Cuban cuisine and his remarkable journey in growing Gordos into a thriving business. “That passion for cuisine and Cuban food was just taken to the next level,” Cruz said. “Now here he is, helping to run a multi, multi, multi-million dollar operation and deciding who and what gets into the university.”

Celebrity chef Art Smith, who had worked with Morales, described him as “a lovely and joyful man. Full of joy and energy, very sweet.” Morales’s older brother, Ricardo Morales Jr., confirmed the tragedy on X, sharing childhood photos of Morales in a heartfelt post.

In a follow-up post, he shared additional memories of his late brother. A GoFundMe page launched by friends and colleagues to support Morales’s family notes that he is survived by his wife, Betty Morales, and their daughter. As of April 19, more than $60,000 has been raised toward the $90,000 goal.

The second victim, 45-year-old Tiru Chabba, was a father of two and a resident of Greenville, South Carolina. He served as a regional vice president for Aramark Collegiate Hospitality, where he had worked for over 20 years in various roles across operations and finance.

Chabba was on campus in his role as a vendor employee on the day of the shooting. In a statement to People magazine, an Aramark spokesperson said, “We are heartbroken to confirm that an Aramark employee was among those killed at FSU yesterday in that senseless act of violence. We are absolutely shaken by the news.”

Attorneys representing Chabba’s family confirmed his identity and said they plan to hold accountable all those responsible for the shooting.

At a Friday evening vigil, Clark concluded his remarks with a tribute to both men: “These two individuals were more than just names. They were deeply loved, and their absences leave a void that cannot be filled.”

The shooting, which occurred at Florida State University (FSU) on Thursday, April 17, left two people dead and six others injured. According to the Miami Herald, the suspect—20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, an FSU student—is the son of a Leon County Sheriff’s deputy and had longstanding ties to the agency. The attack marked the sixth mass shooting in Florida this year and the 81st in the United States in 2025. The investigation remains ongoing, with growing scrutiny around how Ikner accessed a deputy’s weapon.

The authorities revealed that Ikner was no stranger to law enforcement. Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil confirmed that he had been actively involved in the agency’s Youth Advisory Council and had participated in other law enforcement training programs.

“He has been steep in the Leon County Sheriff’s family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have … so it’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons,” said McNeil during a press conference.

His mother, Jessica Ikner, is a deputy assigned to protect a local public school and is well-known within the department. Authorities said the suspect used a handgun that once belonged to his mother. It was her former service weapon, which she had legally bought for personal use.

FSU Police Chief Jason Trumbower later confirmed that Ikner was also carrying a shotgun, although authorities do not believe it was used. “We have not confirmed anyone was shot with a shotgun, but that could change,” Trumbower stated.

Two adult men were killed in the attack. Five others were wounded by gunfire, and a sixth person was injured while trying to flee, police said. The victims’ names have not been released. Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare later confirmed that it had received six patients — one in critical condition and the remaining five in serious condition.

The attack played out in front of students nearby. Among them was McKenzie Heeter, who told CNN she had just left the Student Union when she noticed an orange Hummer parked along a service road. Standing beside the vehicle was a man holding what appeared to be a large firearm.

Heeter said he fired a shot in her general direction, where others were also walking, then retrieved a handgun from the vehicle and turned toward the building.

“She was just walking. And he just turned around and shot her,” Heeter recalled, referring to a woman wearing purple scrubs who was struck in the back. Heeter ran nearly a mile to her apartment, describing 20 seconds of continuous gunfire as she fled.

A witness later recalled that the shooter appeared calm and expressionless, though he wore a scowl. “I really just want to find out about the woman in the purple scrubs and if she is OK,” she said, her voice still shaken.

As chaos rippled across campus, law enforcement acted swiftly to secure the scene. The university was placed on lockdown as armed officers swept through buildings, evacuating students with their hands raised—a safety protocol in the face of uncertainty.

Videos captured by ABC journalist Forrest Saunders revealed the aftermath: laptops, shoes, backpacks, and half-eaten meals littered the campus lawn, hastily abandoned in the scramble to flee.

Emergency responders administered medical aid on-site, with several victims transported by ambulance. In one striking video, a law enforcement officer is seen receiving a pair of handcuffs before restraining an individual lying on a stretcher inside an ambulance.

As the community reeled from the violence, another video circulated on X, fueling widespread outrage. The footage appeared to show a person casually sipping Starbucks while walking past an injured individual on the ground—seemingly filming the moment on a phone.

The individual’s identity remains unknown, but the clip quickly went viral, sparking intense backlash. “How do you walk by and not try to help?” one user wrote. Another added sarcastically, “You spelled Americana wrong.” A third commented, “This heartless person needs to be outed and publicly shamed. #fsustarbucks #fsu.”

A X commenter remarked, “Sending love to FSU. Horrible situation. Just saw a video of some students walking past a wounded person while drinking their Starbucks, taking a video. Unreal how you can take a video of someone wounded and walk past rather than at least checking if they’re okay.”

Another stated, “There’s a 6-second video clip purportedly of a person with a Starbuck’s [sic] in hand walking past wounded on the campus of Florida State University. WHERE IS YOUR HUMANITY? These victims need comfort more than you need clicks.”

However, not everyone agreed with the outrage. “The video posted is unrelated to the shooting today. As an alum I’m disgusted that people are using this tragedy to sew [sic] division in our country,” noted another person on X.

While discussion continued online, authorities continued working to piece together the events behind the shooting. As of Friday, they have not determined a motive for the attack. The investigation remains active.

Just two days earlier, another school shooting took place — this time at a high school in Dallas.

The shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School (WHHS) in Dallas on Tuesday afternoon, April 15, left four people hospitalized. Police responded shortly after 1 p.m. to reports of gunfire at the campus on Langdon Road.

According to CBS News Texas, authorities confirmed by 2:20 p.m. that the school was secure and there was no ongoing threat.

The Dallas Fire Department confirmed that three of the four victims in the school shooting sustained gunshot wounds, though their injuries were described as non-life-threatening. Three of the victims are between the ages of 15 and 18; the age of the fourth remains unconfirmed. All were transported to nearby hospitals, including Baylor Scott & White Health, Parkland, and Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

At the time of the incident, law enforcement sources stated that the suspect—reportedly a student—remained at large, and no identifying details were released. However, new developments have since emerged.

The suspect has now been identified as 17-year-old Tracy Denard Haynes Jr. According to reports, Haynes Jr. surrendered to authorities at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15. He is currently being held at the Dallas County Jail and faces four counts of aggravated assault in connection with the mass shooting—each a first-degree felony.

An affidavit from a special agent with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) accuses Haynes Jr. of intentionally or recklessly attempting to cause serious bodily injury or death to multiple students at WHHS. The report states that Haynes Jr. discharged a firearm during the incident, targeting four or more individuals in what is described as a mass shooting.

The charges are filed under Texas Penal Code 22.02(b)(4), which addresses aggravated assault committed as part of a mass shooting.

Emergency response units—including Dallas police, EMS, and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)—quickly arrived on the scene. Aerial footage showed students being evacuated and guided toward Eagle Stadium for family reunification. Approximately 900 students were present on campus at the time of the attack.

Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde later announced the cancellation of classes for the remainder of the week. She added that mental health professionals would be available to support students and staff during the recovery process.

After being told they could leave the classroom, she saw “a lot of blood on the floor.” Reflecting on the incident, she said it wasn’t the first time a shooting had occurred at the school and pointed to ongoing security concerns.

A third female student, interviewed by ABC News, said someone in the class saw a bullet hit their door window.

“That’s when my heart really sunk,” the student said. This student also questioned how a firearm could enter the school and criticized the lack of enforcement, “I feel like the security… they weren’t really like doing their job at the moment.”

Aldo, a high school senior, told WFAA he knew one of the students who was shot and helped him afterward. He said the student had been running behind him in the cafeteria. “He was basically asking for help. He was like, ‘Hey, I just — something hit me or something,’ and he just said, ‘Take off my boot so I can see it,'” Aldo recalled.

Aldo discovered that the student had a “big gash or wound on his leg” that made it difficult to move, and eventually, he lost feeling in it. He described the moment as one that required instinctive action, and he now feels calmer knowing his loved ones are safe.

The latest shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School follows an incident in April 2024, when a student brought a handgun onto campus and shot another student inside a classroom. According to Fox News, both individuals were 17 years old and knew each other.

“He was able to direct the student away from the campus so that he could take care of, first, the injured student and, second, to make sure that the alleged suspect did not enter into the rest of the school building,” Elizalde said.

The suspect was apprehended near the stadium, and the weapon was retrieved. The injured student was expected to recover. In the aftermath of that incident, parents and students raised ongoing concerns about security lapses.

Angelika Partida, a tenth-grader, said school staff often don’t thoroughly inspect backpacks. As she bent down to unzip her own bag, she mimicked the quick motion of how staff typically check it. “They just open our backpack like this. They do like this, and they don’t check them all the way through,” she explained.

Acknowledging weaknesses in the system, Elizalde stated, “This is absolutely unacceptable and unimaginable, but it is happening across schools in America. It cannot be the normal response. We must use this tragedy to learn something.”