Authorities have yet to release the names of the victims in Thursday’s mass shooting at Florida State University, which left two people dead and six others wounded.
But family members have identified one of the deceased as Robert Morales, a 57-year-old university employee.
His death was announced by his brother, Ricardo Morales Jr., in a post on X on 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. added. “You deserved better.”
According to the Miami Herald, Robert Morales was the son of Ricardo “Monkey” Morales, a “shadowy Cuban-American CIA operative and anti-Castro militant throughout the 1960s and ’70s who died in a bar fight in Miami in 1982.”
Robert Morales worked in the university’s dining services department, the paper reported, and was one of several employees who had gathered for a meeting when the shooting began.
What we know about the other victims
A man at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the mass shooting. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images)
The other deceased victim has not been identified. Authorities had said neither of those killed was a student or law enforcement.
Six people were taken to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare hospital with gunshot wounds.
All were in stable condition when they arrived, hospital officials said at a press conference on Friday. Some of the victims received wounds to the face and torso. Three required surgery.
Brett Howard, a trauma and general surgeon at the hospital, said two of the injured patients were expected to be discharged Friday. Three others have improved and are in good condition, he said. One remains in fair condition. All are expected to make a full recovery.
The hospital did not disclose the names of the patients, nor did it say whether any are students. At the press conference, FSU President Richard McCullough said that he “wanted to express our gratitude to the health care professionals who took care of our students who were shot and injured.”
Police tape surrounds the suspected shooter’s vehicle on Florida State University’s campus on Thursday. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images)
The suspected shooter was identified as Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old FSU student who classmates say had espoused far-right and hateful views. He was shot and taken into custody.
Police said Ikner is the stepson of Jessica Ikner, a Leon County sheriff’s deputy who has worked with the department for over 18 years. A former service weapon that belonged to her was recovered at the scene.
