President Donald Trump placed the blame of the deadly shooting at Florida State University Thursday solely on shooter, not the weapon.
Phoenix Ikner, the 20-year-old son of son of a sheriff’s deputy, is accused of killing two people and injuring at least six others after opening fire on campus, Mediate reported.
Trump spoke with reporters shortly after the incident and defended the Second Amendment.
“Mr. President, there are now two deceased following the shooting at Florida State University. Is there any changes you want to see to gun legislation? Anything you see broken with gun laws?” NewsNation reporter Libbey Dean asked Trump.
“I’m a big advocate of the Second Amendment. I have been from the beginning. I protected it. And these things are terrible,” Trump replied. “But the gun doesn’t do the shooting. The people do. It’s, you know, a phrase that’s used probably too often. I will tell you that it’s a shame. I’m just hearing about it now, just heard about it. I know the area very, very well. I know the school very well. I know everything about it. It’s Florida. And we’ll have more to say about it later on.”
The reporter then asked, “What do you mean when you say there will be more to say about it?”
“Only in terms of what happened. As far as legislation is concerned, this has been going on for a long time,” Trump said. “I have an obligation to protect the Second Amendment. I ran on the Second Amendment, among many other things, and I will always protect the Second Amendment.”
Watch his comments below:
Media personality Collin Rugg posted on X that Ikner, reportedly a political science major, was featured in FSU News in January as part of the school’s coverage of protests of Trump’s inauguration.
“These people are usually pretty entertaining, usually not for good reasons,” Ikner said. “I think it’s a little too late, [Trump’s] already going to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 and there’s not really much you can do unless you outright revolt, and I don’t think anyone wants that.”
According to USA Today, “At the scene, investigators recovered a handgun that belonged to the suspect’s mother, a longtime deputy with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, said Sheriff Walt McNeil. A shotgun was also found, but it’s unclear whether it was used.”
Breaking 911 also posted on X, stating, “FSU shooting suspect appears to have attended an anti-Trump rally before the President’s second inauguration.”
