(NewsNation) — A witness to Thursday’s shooting at Florida State University says she walked past the gunman as he began firing at people with a shotgun before the suspect switched to a pistol and targeted victims randomly.
“And he shoots the lady walking in front of him,” junior McKenzie Heeter told “CUOMO” on Thursday. “And that’s when I knew that there was no target. There was no one specific. It was just anybody he could see.”
Two nonstudents died and six people were taken to the hospital in the late morning attack near the student union building, which ended when police swarmed the scene and wounded the gunman. Police have identified the suspect as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, an FSU student and son of a local deputy.
Heeter said she exited the student union with food when she noticed an orange Hummer parked nearby. As she walked by, she said, a man at the vehicle fired a shotgun at her and other people but did not strike anyone.
“That’s when he turns around and goes in the Hummer, and he grabs his pistol,” Heeter said.
She said the woman whom the gunman subsequently shot was an adult wearing scrubs and probably was not a student.
At that point, Heeter said, she ran from the scene. As she encountered students walking toward the danger, she warned them to turn back.
“I just was yelling at them, like, ‘Don’t go that way. There’s an active shooter,’” Heeter said.
Other FSU students hunkered down
Other students at the Tallahassee campus shared their own unnerving experiences of sheltering in place as word of the shooting spread across campus.
Ryan Cedergren, a 21-year-old junior, said he was at a bowling alley in a lower level of the student union when he noticed crowds of people running past. He said he ended up hiding behind a pinsetter machine before fast-responding police escorted people from the building.
“So much credit goes to Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Tallahassee police, FSU police. They were on the scene in minutes,” Cedergren told “CUOMO.” “I’m so grateful for them.”
‘Didn’t really believe it was real’
Bryce Vance, a sophomore at Florida State University, was near the student union when the gunfire broke out. A lot of us didn’t really believe it was real,” Young said on “Morning in America.”