FSU gunman used deputy stepmom's weapon: Could she be held liable?

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBS12) — After a deadly mass shooting at Florida State University, investigators have confirmed that the weapon used by the suspected gunman, Phoenix Ikner, belonged to his stepmother — a longtime deputy with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.

Now, questions are being raised about whether she could face legal consequences for how that gun was stored, and how it ultimately ended up in her stepson’s hands.

Ikner, a 20-year-old FSU student, is accused of fatally shooting two people and injuring six others near the campus student union before he was shot and taken into custody by responding officers.

Investigators say he first tried to use a shotgun, which jammed, then switched to the handgun — a former service weapon his stepmother, Deputy Jessica Ikner, had legally kept after the agency upgraded its firearms.

Cellphone video from the scene appears to show the suspect aiming the handgun and firing on a busy campus walkway as students frantically fled.

With the investigation still in its early stages, legal experts say the deputy is unlikely to face criminal charges — but she may not be off the hook completely.

“I think he’s going to be the only one prosecuted for this crime,” said former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg. “But there’ll be a lot of civil lawsuits. In fact, I expect one to be filed within a week.”

Aronberg said that in recent years, prosecutors across the country have started using the law to hold parents of school shooters accountable. But those cases have largely involved minors — not adults like Ikner.

Under Florida law, gun owners are only required to secure firearms if a person under the age of 16 could access them.

“But this guy was 20 years old,” Aronberg said. “So that law doesn’t apply to him. The stepmom is not under a legal obligation to lock up the gun in her house. I don’t see any prosecution against the stepmom, but I do believe there’ll be plenty of lawsuits — against her and perhaps Florida State.”

Still, Aronberg said civil court operates under a different — and much lower — burden of proof.

“You can file a civil lawsuit against anyone who violates their duty of care. It’s negligence,” he said. “It’s a relatively low burden. If you want to go after someone criminally, you’ve got to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. And it’s very difficult when you have an adult son and there’s not a legal obligation to take care of that adult son.”

Aronberg said the only scenario where criminal charges might be considered is if the deputy knew her stepson posed a serious threat and still allowed him access to a gun.

“It’s different if you knew he was a ticking time bomb and you gave him a gun, or you left it out in such a conspicuous place that it was easy to figure out what would happen next,” he said. “But that’s a high burden. So that’s why I don’t believe there will be a criminal case here against the stepmom. But I do believe she’ll be sued for negligence — which isn’t that hard to prove.”

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The Leon County Sheriff’s Office has not said whether the deputy is under internal investigation.

During a Thursday press conference, Sheriff Walt McNeil praised her work ethic and years of service, calling it “tremendous” and “exceptional.”