A tragic shooting unfolded at Florida State University on Thursday, leaving two people dead and six injured. The gunman, identified as 20-year-old student Phoenix Ikner, opened fire near a student union building around lunchtime. Ikner, who is the son of a sheriff’s deputy, was later hospitalized with injuries that are not life-threatening.
Stephanie Horowitz, a graduate student at the university, found herself reliving painful memories of her time at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the Parkland massacre seven years ago. Though she did not witness the gunman or hear the shots, Horowitz was reminded of the horror from her teenage years as she observed the eerily silent campus with abandoned belongings scattered around.
Horowitz is part of a small group of individuals who have now experienced the trauma of two school shootings. Reflecting on the repeated nightmare, she expressed disbelief at having to endure such an ordeal twice so early in her adult life, remarking, “This is America.”
Logan Rubenstein, another Florida State student, also has ties to the Parkland tragedy. As an eighth-grader, he sheltered in place at his middle school during the massacre. Rubenstein, now confronted with another shooting, voiced regret over not being able to prevent it. “What we went through, we made it our mission to ensure this could never happen again,” he said.
The Parkland shooting, one of the deadliest in U.S. history, took the lives of 17 individuals and wounded another 17 on Valentine’s Day in 2018. Jaclyn Schildkraut, a researcher on gun violence, noted that experiencing multiple such events can significantly hinder emotional recovery, often bringing survivors back to the painful starting point of their healing journey.
Lori Alhadeff, who tragically lost her daughter Alyssa in the Parkland shooting, felt a surge of panic upon receiving a text from her son Robbie about the active shooter situation at Florida State. Her son, fortunately, had left the student union shortly before the shooting occurred. Alhadeff expressed her concerns, insisting that such incidents should not be considered normal and urging for better prevention measures.