Florida Senate holds moment of silence for FSU shooting victims
With a brief, heartfelt comment from Republican Sen. Corey Simon, the state Senate on Wednesday held a moment of silence for the victims of last week's shooting at Florida State University.
"Last Thursday, my FSU family … sorry, I knew this day was coming," Simon, an FSU graduate who starred on the Seminoles' 2000 national championship football team, said as he choked with emotion, "was rocked by senseless violence on our campus, six students being shot and two adults being killed."
"Today, I rise and ask for a moment of silence for my Seminole family as we mourn those lost and the lives changed forever," Simon said.
As Simon broke down, the Senate briefly recessed. Senate President Ben Albritton called Simon's comments "beautiful and the best the Florida Senate has to offer."
Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old student, opened fire April 17 with a handgun, killing a university dining coordinator and a vendor and injuring six other people, according to authorities. Ikner was shot and captured after confronting police officers.
FSU students demand action
FSU students have handed out fliers to lawmakers this week and marched to the Capitol to call for tougher gun regulations.
Logan Rubenstein, an FSU junior from Parkland who was in eighth grade in 2018 when a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, called the latest shooting a failure of lawmakers as "this keeps happening."
"This issue is not going away, as much as you want to hide from it. As much as you want to shrug it off, it keeps happening. We can't let that continue," Rubenstein said.
The governor released a 47-second video to thank law enforcement officers and vowed the shooter "will be brought to justice." DeSantis and the first lady visited Tallahassee Memorial Hospital after the shooting, according to his schedule.
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