Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against accused Florida State mass shooter
State Attorney Jack Campbell confirmed that he intends to seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing two people and injuring five others in the April 17 mass shooting at Florida State University.
Phoenix Ikner was indicted by a grand jury May 14 on two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder, which include counts for two people he fired at but didn't hit.
Campbell told media outlets that Ikner will face the ultimate punishment a day after the grand jury issued its indictment against him. When asked to elaborate why, he told the Tallahassee Democrat he couldn't ethically discuss the facts of the case.
"I believe it's the right thing to do based on the facts and the law," Campbell said.
The grand jury also released a true bill presentment detailing the crimes Ikner is accused of committing and clearing the actions of FSU Police Officer Cody Poppell, who ended his rampage when he shot him in the jaw from his moving motorcycle.
Robert Morales, a 57-year-old dining coordinator at FSU, was shot and killed in the food court inside the Student Union. Tiru Chabba, a 45-year-old Aramark employee from Greenville, South Carolina, was shot after the gunman exited the main entrance on the west side and fired at multiple people. Five students also were shot and injured and later released from the hospital.
Under Florida law, prosecutors must file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty within 45 days of arraignment. Campbell said he anticipates filing notice in the near future.
"I'll file a notice of intent to seek death, which will lay out the statutory aggravators," he said. "There are some statutory things that are listing the fact that there were multiple crimes and lots of people were in danger."
The last defendant who was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in Leon County was Gary Michael Hilton, a brutal serial killer whose victims included Cheryl Dunlap, a nurse from Crawfordville. Sentenced in 2011, Hilton remains on Florida's death row.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against accused FSU mass shooter
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