But before he was identified as the shooter, his birth mother, Anne-Mari Eriksen, wrote a post criticizing Phoenix’s father, Christopher.
Eriksen and Christopher were involved in a custody battle that lasted more than 15 years, according to court documents obtained by CBS News.
The nasty custody battle began in 2007 and will last until 2023.
While the dispute was still ongoing, Eriksen accused Christopher and his wife, Jessica, of slander and filed a lawsuit in 2015. The case was dismissed only one year later.
Eriksen berated Christopher and Jessica online on Thursday, just moments before Ikner was identified as the suspect.
She accused Christopher of being unstable and claimed they were not responding to her messages when she inquired about Ikner, according to a now-deleted post obtained by The Mail.
Eriksen called the family “nuts” before continuing to hurl insults at Christopher.
“He should write a book on how to parent badly, but he can not communicate,” she told me.
Eriksen later removed the social media post.
Following his shooting and arrest on campus, more details about Ikner’s upbringing have emerged.
He was previously known as Christian Eriksen, but changed his name in 2020.
Years after being found guilty of illegally removing a child from Florida, Anne-Mari changed her name.
According to court documents obtained by ABC, she traveled with her son to Norway without permission in March 2015.
Anne-Mari and Ikner have dual citizenship, according to the court filing.
Anne-Mari was arrested at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in July of that year.
Her Facebook page is littered with photos of Ikner as a small child.
FSU shooting timeline
- 12:01 pm: An active shooter was first reported by the FSU student union, police are on their way
- 12:19 pm: FSU confirmed police were on the scene and instructed students to shelter in place
- 12:45 pm: A video is shared of students and faculty walking through campus with their hands up
- 12:58 pm: Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare confirmed they are treating those injured in the shooting
- 1:01 pm: FBI confirmed agents are on campus investigating the shooting
- 1:04 pm: FSU notified students that law enforcement is clearing rooms on the main campus
- 1:45 pm: Leon County school district instructs high schoolers to stay away from FSU’s campus
- 1:48 pm: Donald Trump says he has been ‘fully briefed’ on the situation
- 1:50 pm: The Associated Press initially reports that six victims are in the hospital and a suspect has been apprehended
- 2:44 pm: FSU classes and campus activities are canceled through April 18. Students are allowed to return to residence halls, but are otherwise told to stay in place
- 3:20 pm: FSU confirms that law enforcement has neutralized the threat and lifts stay-in-place order
- 3:51 pm: Student Union, Bellamy, HCB Classroom Building, Rovetta A&B, Moore Auditorium, Shaw, Pepper, Hecht House and Carraway buildings are closed
In 2022, she shared a photo of him after he graduated high school.
In the image, he is crouching and leaning against a tree.
She also shared a montage of photos to commemorate Mother’s Day in 2023.
“Love being my son Christian Gunnar’s (Phoenix) mother,” one post read.
Ikner allegedly used one of his stepmother Jessica’s weapons in the mass shooting.
Jessica, who has been married to Christopher since 2010, is a Leon County Sheriff’s Deputy.
She has been with the force for over 18 years.
At around noon on Thursday, police descended on FSU’s Tallahassee campus after receiving reports of an active shooter.
The school was placed on lockdown, and students hid inside dorms and campus buildings for hours while police went door-to-door looking for the gunman and victims.
There were two fatalities, but they were not students.
Six more people were injured, but all are expected to survive.
Ikner, meanwhile, was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive his injuries.
Police said he was “neutralized” more than three hours after the shooting was first reported.
McKenzie Heeter, a junior at the university, claimed Ikner opened fire after arriving on campus in an orange Hummer.
She told NBC News that he then took a pistol from the car.
“That is when I just started running,” she explained.
Heeter stated that approximately 15 rounds were fired within 30 seconds.
As chaos erupted on campus, students were urged to shelter in place, and some built barriers out of trash cans while hunkering down.
Sam Swartz told CNN that he and his classmates sought refuge in the student union’s basement.
CHAOS ERUPTS
The shooting occurred just two weeks before the end of the semester.
Following the shooting, details about Ikner’s personality and political beliefs emerged.
Classmates accused him of promoting white supremacy, while others claimed he boasted about having access to firearms.
Ikner also promoted false theories about former President Joe Biden, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
In addition, he was reportedly expelled from a political club.
Police have not revealed a motive for the shooting.
Vigils have been held on campus, with students laying memorials and consoling one another.
The Sun in the United States has reached out to Jessica Ikner for comment.