The suspected gunman in a mass shooting that killed two people at a Florida State University campus earlier this year is set to go on trial in November, a judge said Wednesday.
Phoenix Ikner, 20, is accused of killing two people and wounding several others after opening fire near the university’s student union just before lunchtime on April 17.
The FSU political science student, who’s the stepson of a local sheriff’s deputy, was later charged with two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder.
At a case management conference Wednesday in Tallahassee, Second Judicial Circuit Judge Lance Neff said jury selection in the case is set to begin Nov. 3.
Public defense attorney Peter Mills, who is representing Ikner, objected to the judge’s timeline, saying he is “still investigating the case” and adding, “My client’s entitled to effective assistance of counsel.”
The judge acknowledged the defense’s concerns, telling Mills, “We can talk about what you need” to properly investigate the case.
Prosecutors accuse Ikner of killing two people in the rampage: 57-year-old Robert Morales, a longtime dining hall employee, and 45-year-old Tiru Chabba, a married father of two from South Carolina who worked for a university vendor.
Five other victims were wounded by gunfire, while another person was injured while attempting to run from the shooting, Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said.
Ikner was formally charged on May 12 after being released from a local hospital, “following an extended stay and multiple surgeries to treat injuries he sustained during the April 17 shooting,” the Tallahassee Police Department said.
If convicted of the top charge, Ikner could face the death penalty.
