Students at Florida State University used chewed gum to stick paper over classroom windows during a horrifying shooting on campus, according to a report by the New York Post.
Jeffrey LaFray, a student at FSU, told Good Morning America that gunfire broke out on Thursday afternoon while he and his classmates were in class. With no tape available to cover the windows and hide from the gunman, students quickly started chewing gum to make the paper stick.
“I hear pop pop pop,” LaFray recalled, as quoted by the New York Post. “The teacher was asking if any of us had tape to tape up some paper. And no one had tape and so some of us, we just got out gum and started chewing so we could stick some paper to the windows.”
Here’s what some of the Carothers Building on FSU campus looks like now — after SWAT team cleared the building. Pink slips taped to signify that an area was cleared. All locked doors were breached by forced entry.
This building is where my class was being held, and where we… pic.twitter.com/nejl1AHbV8
— Melina Myers (@melinasphotos) April 17, 2025
The gunman, identified as 20-year-old student Phoenix Ikner, opened fire on the Tallahassee campus using his stepmother’s former service weapon, killing two people and injuring five others. Police said he ignored officers’ orders and was shot by law enforcement. He survived and is currently being treated in hospital.
Another student, Madison Askins, 23, told ABC News that she was walking near the student union when she was shot from behind. “I released all the muscles in my body, closed my eyes and held my breath,” she said. “I know for certain if I was moving he would’ve shot me again.” The New York Post included her account in their coverage.
Two Aramark employees, 45-year-old Tiru Chabba and Robert Morales, were identified as the victims who lost their lives in the tragic event. The motive for the shooting has not yet been revealed.
According to the New York Post, Ikner is the son of a Leon County sheriff’s deputy. His grandmother reportedly blamed his parents, calling them “rotten bastard people.”
The university has since lifted its lockdown, but the emotional impact on students and staff remains heavy.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
