Eight people were wounded Thursday during a mass shooting at Florida State University‘s Student Union, leaving two dead and six others hospitalized, officials said.
The alleged shooter, identified as 20-year-old FSU student Phoenix Ikner, was also wounded in an exchange of gunfire with responding officers and remained in the hospital.
As of Friday morning, two of the surviving victims are expected to be discharged, while three are listed in good condition and one remains in fair condition, according to a spokesperson for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.
TMH medical staff is set to provide an update on the condition of the victims this Friday at 1 p.m. local time.
Authorities have not released the names of any victims. However, family members have identified one of the victims as Robert Morales, a university dining worker.
Robert Morales
Among those killed was 57-year-old Robert Morales, a longtime employee in the university’s dining services department. His death was confirmed by his brother, Ricardo Morales Jr., in a post on social media Thursday night.
“Today we lost my younger brother,” he wrote. “He was one of the victims killed at FSU. He loved his job at FSU and his beautiful wife and daughter. I’m glad you were in my life.”
Ricardo Morales Jr. also confirmed his brother’s death to CBS News Miami.
According to the Miami Herald, Robert Morales was attending a meeting with other university employees when the shooting erupted. He was also the son of Ricardo “Monkey” Morales, a controversial Cuban American CIA operative and anti-Castro militant active during the Cold War. The elder Morales was killed in a bar fight in Miami in 1982.
While the university has yet to officially confirm the victims’ names, memorials of candles and flowers have begun to appear across campus, and a vigil is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday at Langford Green.
