FSU Student Recounts Campus Shooting and Suspect's White Supremacist Views

Campus Lockdown and Fear

• 🔒 Reid Seybold, an FSU senior, recounts being barricaded in a classroom during the campus shooting, fearing for his life.
• 😨 He describes the harrowing experience of locking doors, turning off lights, and sending texts to loved ones, acknowledging the new reality of being a statistic in school shootings.
• 🩸 During evacuation, Seybold witnessed blood in the hallways, highlighting the immediate aftermath of the violence.

Knowing the Suspect

• 🎯 Seybold reveals he knew the suspected gunman, Phoenix Ikner, from a political club at Tallahassee State College.
• 🗣️ Ikner was known for espousing white supremacist and alt-right rhetoric, leading to his expulsion from the club.
• 🚩 Seybold notes that Ikner continued to push similar rhetoric at Florida State University, even after being allowed back into a club.

Suspect's Ideology and Behavior

• 🚫 Ikner's extremist views included statements such as multiculturalism and communism ruining America, and referring to Rosa Parks as being in the wrong.
• ⚠️ Despite the rhetoric, Seybold expressed shock, stating there was nothing physically indicating Ikner would commit such a heinous act, noting that he himself is conservative and into guns.

Moving Forward After Trauma

• 🤝 Seybold emphasizes the importance of his support system, including friends and his boyfriend, in coping with the event.
• 🤔 He expresses uncertainty about how students will return to class on Monday, acknowledging the profound impact of the shooting on the FSU community.