FSU shooter changed his name as Lincoln High student after childhood 'tragic event'

Phoenix Ikner , the Florida State University student who opened fire on campus Thursday, killing two people and injuring six, didn't always go by that name.

He was born Christian Gunnar Eriksen, the son of a Tallahassee man and a Miami woman who had dual Norwegian citizenship. The couple lived together with their son for more than three years before splitting.

In 2019, when Ikner was a 15-year-old student at Lincoln High School, his father filed a petition in Leon Circuit Court seeking to change his son's name.

The request came at the request of the boy, who hadn't had contact with his mother since 2015, when she took him to Norway away from his father and against court orders. Ikner later called that a "tragic event" in his life.

His mom was arrested in connection with that incident on a charge of removing a minor from the state during a custody proceeding, according to Leon Circuit Court records.

She pleaded no contest in 2016 and was sentenced to 200 days in jail and two years of probation. She was ordered to stay away from her son, except as allowed by family court, and ordered to pay $31,000 in restitution.

'He chose the name Phoenix because of its representation of rising from the ashes anew'

Not long after that, Ikner, then known as Christian Eriksen, decided he wanted to change his name, Administrative Magistrate James Banks wrote in a report recommending the court grant the name change.

"Beginning around 2017 he decided he wanted a fresh start in his life and a new name was part of that fresh start," Banks wrote. "He chose the name Phoenix because of its representation of rising from the ashes anew and the name of Ikner because that is his father's name."

The report said the boy saw "no reason" to keep his former name because it was a "constant reminder of the 2015 tragedy he suffered through and of his mother who he has not seen or spoken to since 2015."

The magistrate said that Ikner "attended counseling to help him cope with these past events."

His mother, however, vehemently opposed it, leading to one of many court clashes between his parents.

Ikner went by his new, chosen name for several years before asking for the name change. He testified before the judge about his desire to cast off his old name.

"This court found him to be a mentally, emotionally and physically mature young adult, who was very articulate, quite intelligent, very well spoken and very polite," Banks wrote. "He is a 10th grader A/B honor roll student ... and came to the hearing dressed in his NJROTC uniform."

Leon Circuit Judge J. Layne Smith adopted the magistrate's report in October 2020, making the name change official.

According to FSU records, Ikner was a junior majoring in political science. He enrolled for the spring 2025 semester after transferring from Tallahassee State College, where he earned an AA degree in the fall of 2024. He graduated from Lincoln in 2022.

Ikner is the stepson of Jessica Ikner, a Leon County sheriff's deputy and a beloved school resource officer at Raa Middle School. Earlier reports described her as Ikner's mother.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com at 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Phoenix Ikner changed name as high school student after 'tragic event'