Trial date for suspect in Florida State mass shooting has been postponed until next year

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The trial of the Florida State University student accused of killing two people and wounding six others in a mass shooting on campus in April has been postponed until next year.

Phoenix Ikner, 21, faces two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting that terrorized the campus in Florida's capital city.

Ikner's trial had been set to start the week of Nov. 3. On Wednesday, 2nd Judicial Circuit Judge Lance Neff rescheduled the proceedings to begin March 30, 2026, after the court-appointed public defender assigned to Ikner reported a conflict of interest that would prevent his office from continuing to work on the case.

Neff has since assigned new attorneys to represent Ikner, who has pleaded not guilty.

Ikner is the stepson of a local sheriff’s deputy, and investigators say he used his stepmother’s former service weapon to carry out the shooting.

Prosecutors in the case intend to seek the death penalty.

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.