Phoenix Ikner, the accused gunman in this April’s Florida State University mass shooting, now is set to face a jury next spring.
After complications and changes in counsel, the 20-year-old’s trial now has been set for March 30, 2026, to provide his new attorneys time to prepare his defense.
Blake Johnson and Sarah Morris, capital defense attorneys assigned to him from the Office of Regional Civil and Criminal Conflict Counsel, tried to push for more time.
“A case of this magnitude … 3 years is the average for our office,” Johnson said at a Sept. 10 hearing in the case.
The pair said their team has several cases they’re working on in multiple counties, but Leon Circuit Judge Lance Neff wasn’t willing to wait.
“I’ll give you 207 (days),” Neff said. “That’s plenty of time. That’s way more time than what the Supreme Court deems as required.”
The state said it is still ready for trial. Over 200 witnesses have been identified and thousands of hours of video footage have been reviewed.
Assistant State Attorney Callaway Scott informed Neff that not all 200 witnesses, however, would be testifying. “We are ready; we are prepared,” he told the judge.
As previously reported, Ikner so far has decided to “stand mute” in the criminal case against him. That means he’s decided not to respond to the charges against him. He was not in the courtroom on Sept. 10.
Police say that on April 17 Ikner opened fire on the FSU-Tallahassee campus’ student union, killing Robert Morales, a 57-year-old dining coordinator at FSU, and Tiru Chabba, a 45-year-old Aramark employee from Greenville, South Carolina.
Five students also were shot and injured and later released from the hospital.
Ikner was indicted 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.
This story contains previously published reporting. Local government watchdog reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ‘Plenty of time’: Judge delays FSU mass shooting trial until March 2026
Reporting by Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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