Attorneys: Greenville man killed in FSU mass shooting

The family of a man from Greenville County, South Carolina, has hired attorneys after they said he was killed in Thursday’s mass shooting on Florida State University.

Updated: 4:29 PM EDT Apr 18, 2025

AND HE HAS LIKE A RIFLE THAT HE’S KIND OF WAVING AROUND. SECONDS LATER, GUNSHOTS. AND THEN PROBABLY ABOUT MAYBE TEN GUNSHOTS HAPPENED AND EVERYONE’S LIKE, OH MY GOD. AND CONFUSION ON FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY’S CAMPUS. I JUST STARTED RUNNING AS FAST AS I COULD, AND THEN I COULD JUST HEAR, LIKE, SHOTS ECHOING AS I WAS RUNNING. PEOPLE RUNNING AWAY FROM THE STUDENT UNION. WE SAW. COPS RUNNING, STUDENTS RUNNING. IT WAS JUST LIKE COMPLETE CHAOS. EVERYONE WAS LIKE RUNNING ALL OVER THE PLACE. OTHERS BARRICADING DOORS WITH ANYTHING THEY COULD FIND TO KEEP THE GUNMAN OUT. PEOPLE WERE GOING EVERYWHERE. SOME WENT UP LIKE A MAINTENANCE ELEVATOR. SOMEONE UP SOME STAIRCASES. WE JUST KIND OF WENT IN A CORNER AND HID BEHIND SOME TRASH CANS. MADE A LITTLE FORT OUT OF PLYWOOD UNTIL POLICE ARRIVED TO TAKE THEM TO SAFETY. MY HANDS ARE SHAKING. JUST ADRENALINE KICKED IN AND I REALLY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO. I STARTED TEARING UP, JUST LIKE I WAS SCARED. TO BE HONEST, I WAS COMPLETELY IN SHOCK. I DIDN’T THINK THIS COULD HAPPEN AT FLORIDA STATE. AND TONIGHT A MEMORIAL IS GROWING AT FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY FOR THE TWO PEOPLE KILLED AND SIX OTHERS HURT IN TODAY’S MASS SHOOTING. THANKS FOR TRUSTING WESH 2 NEWS. I’M SUMMER KNOWLES AND I’M JESSE PAGON. THE SUSPECTED SHOOTER, 20 YEAR OLD PHOENIX ANCHOR EICHNER, IS IN CUSTODY TONIGHT. THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS HE IS THE SON OF A LEON COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTY AND USED HIS MOM’S FORMER SERVICE WEAPON IN THE SHOOTING. WESH 2’S HAYLEY CROMBLEHOLME LIVE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA WITH LOCAL REACTION TO THE TRAGEDY AND GAIL PASCHALL-BROWN UNCOVERING HOW OUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES PREPARE FOR ACTIVE SHOOTERS TO KEEP YOU SAFE. BUT LET’S GO AHEAD AND HEAD OUT TO WESH TWO ANCHOR STEWART MOORE, WHO LEADS OUR TEAM COVERAGE TONIGHT FROM THAT MEMORIAL ON CAMPUS AT FSU. STU. JUST. AND SUMMER AND JESSE, THAT MEMORIAL CONTINUES TO GROW AT THIS HOUR. YOU CAN SEE MORE STUDENTS ARE PUTTING FLOWERS THERE WHERE CANDLES ARE ALSO LIT AND PEOPLE HAVE LEFT DIFFERENT FSU MEMENTOS, FLOWERS, TEDDY BEARS, DIFFERENT THINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW THEY’RE NOT IN THIS ALONE. WE DID LEARN MORE INFORMATION THIS HOUR ABOUT THE SHOOTER, IN THIS CASE, THE SUSPECTED SHOOTER, 20 YEAR OLD PHOENIX EICHNER. INVESTIGATORS AGAIN TOLD US THAT HE IS THE SON OF A SHERIFF’S DEPUTY HERE IN LEON COUNTY, BUT ALSO THAT HE WAS IN MORE LIKE A JUNIOR PATROL TYPE OF SITUATION WHEN HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. NOW, HE WAS ALSO A STUDENT AT TALLAHASSEE STATE COLLEGE, ACCORDING TO NBC. BEFORE HE ENROLLED HERE AT FLORIDA STATE AND SOMEONE WHO ATTENDED TALLAHASSEE STATE COLLEGE WITH HIM SAYS THAT HE WAS ALSO IN A GROUP CALLED THE POLITICAL ROUNDTABLE, AND HE SAID THAT HE HAD TO BE KICKED OUT OF THE GROUP SAYING, QUOTE, BASICALLY OUR ONLY RULE WAS NO NAZIS. COLLOQUIALLY SPEAKING, HE ESPOUSED HIMSELF AS SO MUCH WHITE SUPREMACIST RHETORIC AND FAR RIGHT RHETORIC, AS WELL AS TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAD TO EXERCISE THAT RULE. THEN HE WAS REMOVED AGAIN. WE SPOKE TO A STUDENT THIS AFTERNOON WHO IS ACTUALLY GOING TO INTERN AT WESH THIS SUMMER. HE WAS IN THE STUDENT UNION WHEN THOSE SHOTS WERE FIRED. WE FIRST SAW PEOPLE RUNNING OUTSIDE OF OUR BOWLING ALLEY AND THEN SOMEONE MENTIONED ACTIVE SHOOTER, AND WE ALL KIND OF RAN TOWARDS THE BACK BILLIARDS ROOM, KIND OF PUTS LIKE ANOTHER GLASS WALL BETWEEN US AND THE OUTSIDE. PEOPLE WERE JUST KIND OF HYPERVENTILATING AND ME LIKE, OH MY GOSH, LIKE PRAYING. JUST STRESSED OUT. AND PEOPLE WERE LIKE, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH. TEXTING PARENTS, CALLING, PARENTS CALLING FRIENDS. AND ONCE WE GOT OUTSIDE, HUGE AMOUNTS, THERE WAS SOMEONE BEING TREATED BY EMS. AND THEN JUST ALL AROUND THERE WAS POLICE AND THEY GUIDED US AND TOLD US, JUST GET OFF CAMPUS. AND RYAN, WHO YOU HEARD FROM THERE, WENT TO HAGERTY HIGH SCHOOL. HE’S INTERNING AT WESH FOR THE LAST FEW SUMMERS IN OUR METEOROLOGY DEPARTMENT. HE WENT ON TO TELL US HE’S JUST 21 YEARS OLD. HE SAYS HIS ENTIRE LIFE, WHILE HE’S BEEN IN SCHOOL, HE’S PRACTICED FOR THINGS LIKE THIS. TALLAHASSEE FROM KINDERGARTEN ON UP THAT WE’VE BEEN PREPARING AND UNFORTUNATELY, TODAY WE HAD TO USE IT FOR REAL. WE’VE BEEN GOING THROUGH LIKE, OH, WOW, WHAT STOPPED ME FROM GOING TO GET LUNCH OR GOING UPSTAIRS OR JUST, YOU KNOW, GOING TO DO SOMETHING OUTSIDE. OKAY. YEAH. AND AGAIN, THIS MEMORIAL CONTINUES TO GROW AS PEOPLE HAVE MORE AND MORE THOUGHTS LIKE THAT. RYAN TELLS US HIS KEYS ARE ACTUALLY STILL IN THE STUDENT UNION, SO HE HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET BACK TO THEM, AS THAT IS STILL CONSIDERED AN ACTIVE CRIME SCENE. NOW, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST SHOOTING ON FSU’S CAMPUS. BACK IN NOVEMBER 2014, A 31 YEAR OLD ALUMNUS SHOT TWO STUDENTS AND AN EMPLOYEE AT STROZIER LIBRARY BEFORE POLICE SHOT AND KILLED HIM. INVESTIGATORS SAY HE CLAIMED THAT HE HEARD VOICES IN HIS APARTMENT AND THOUGHT THE GOVERNMENT WAS TARGETING HIM. ONE OF THE VICTIMS SHOT WAS A STUDENT FROM APOPKA. RONNIE AHMED WAS SHOT THREE TIMES AND PARALYZED FROM HIS WAIST DOWN. I COVERED THAT INCIDENT BACK IN 2014 FOR WESH TWO AS WELL. BRINGS BACK MEMORIES FROM BEING THERE. IT ALSO BRINGS BACK THE MEMORIES OF A CLOSE CALL. ANOTHER STORY THAT WE COVERED 12 YEARS AGO AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA. POLICE SAY JAMES SIVAKUMARAN RANG THE FIRE ALARM INSIDE THE TOWER. ONE DORMITORY TO POSSIBLY LURE AS MANY PEOPLE INTO THE OPEN AS POSSIBLE BEFORE HE PLANNED, ALLEGEDLY TO CARRY OUT A MASS SHOOTING BEFORE HE COULD SHOOT, HIS ROOMMATE ENCOUNTERED HIM AND THEN CALLED 911. HE LATER TOOK HIS OWN LIFE BEFORE POLICE ARRIVED. INVESTIGATORS FOUND GUNS, HUNDREDS OF ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION AND FOUR HOMEMADE BOMBS INSIDE OF A BACKPACK. NOW, WHAT HAPPENED IN TALLAHASSEE HAS SENT SHOCKWAVES THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE STATE AND, OF COURSE, THROUGHOUT CAMPUSES AROUND OUR NATION, WITH PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT CAMPUSES UNDOUBTEDLY CONNECTED TO HERE IN TALLAHASSEE. WESH HAYLEY CROMBLEHOLME JOINS US LIVE FROM UCF TONIGHT TALKING TO PEOPLE AND THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED HERE TODAY. HAYLEY. SO STEWART, EVEN THOUGH THE SHOOTING OBVIOUSLY DIDN’T HAPPEN HERE, THE CONCERN WAS CERTAINLY FELT HERE. I SPOKE WITH SOME UCF STUDENTS I SPOKE WITH AN ORLANDO WOMAN WHOSE SISTER IS A STUDENT AT FLORIDA STATE. A LOT OF THE PEOPLE I TALKED TO TODAY TELLING ME AS SOON AS THEY HEARD ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN TALLAHASSEE, THE FIRST THING THEY HAD TO DO WAS CONTACT EVERYONE THEY KNOW AT FLORIDA STATE, A FEW HUNDRED MILES FROM TALLAHASSEE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA. THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF THIS DEADLY SHOOTING WAS FELT. I THINK IT’S DEFINITELY A CONCERN. I AM A TAD BIT NERVOUS BECAUSE IT’S STARTING TO GET MORE AND MORE COMMON IN AMERICA. THIS FRESHMAN DID WHAT PROBABLY A LOT OF FOLKS ON CAMPUS DID AS SOON AS THEY HEARD ABOUT THE SHOOTING, THE FIRST THING THEY DID WAS CONTACT MY FRIEND BECAUSE I HAVE A FEW FRIENDS THAT LIVE THERE, BUT THANKFULLY THEY WEREN’T AT THE SCENE WHEN IT HAPPENED, SO THEY’RE SAFE. THEY’RE A LITTLE BIT PARANOID, BUT THEY’RE GLAD THAT THEY’RE SAFE NOW, OBVIOUSLY. AND FOR SOME IN OUR AREA, IT’S NOT JUST FRIENDS, BUT FAMILY THAT ARE AT FLORIDA STATE. FOR DIANA BUENO, IT’S HER SISTER, ANGELICA, A GRADUATE OF OVIEDO HIGH SCHOOL WHO IS NOW A SOPHOMORE ON THE SOFTBALL TEAM AT FLORIDA STATE. IT’S A LITTLE SCARY BECAUSE SHE’S THE BABY OF THE FAMILY. YOU KNOW, SHE FIRST FOUND OUT SOMETHING WAS GOING ON WHEN HER SISTER SENT HER A MESSAGE WITH A VIDEO. I SAW EVERYONE RUNNING AROUND. I WAS LIKE, WAIT, WHAT’S GOING ON? SHE’S LIKE, THERE’S A SHOOTING. AND I WAS LIKE, OH MY GOSH, LIKE, ARE YOU OKAY? SHE SAYS HER SISTER IS SAFE AND UNHARMED, AND HER FAMILY WILL BE HEADING TO TALLAHASSEE THIS WEEKEND TO SEE HER. AND WITH THE SEMESTER NEVER ENDING, STUDENTS WILL SOON GET TO HEAD HOME AFTER WHAT’S HAPPENED SO THEY CAN JUST COME HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, SETTLE DOWN, GET AWAY FROM IT ALL. AND HERE AT UCF, THE SCHOOL DID SEND OUT A STATEMENT CALLING WHAT HAPPENED IN TALLAHASSEE DEVASTATING. THEY ALSO LET STUDENTS KNOW THEY MAY NOTICE AN INCREASED PRESENCE OF POLICE ON CAMPUS. AND THEY ALSO ARE GOING TO BE SETTING ASIDE A SPACE STARTING TOMORROW MORNING AT THE LIVE OAK EVENT CENTER, WHERE PEOPLE WERE PART OF THIS COMMUNITY CAN REFLECT AND FIND SOME SUPPORT THAT’S GOING TO BE OPENING UP AT 10 A.M. LIVE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA. HAYLEY CROMBLEHOLME WESH TWO NEWS. HAYLEY. THANK YOU. ORANGE COUNTY HAS A LARGE POPULATION OF STUDENTS AT FLORIDA STATE. MORE THAN 2000 STUDENTS WERE ENROLLED IN THE FALL 2023 SEMESTER. THAT IS THE SIXTH MOST THROUGHOUT THE STATE. MEANWHILE, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HAS ALSO BEEN KEPT UP TO DATE ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENED HERE IN TALLAHASSEE. EARLIER TODAY, HE ADDRESSED REPORTERS WHEN THEY ASKED HIM ABOUT ANY POSSIBLE GUN LEGISLATION IN THE WAKE OF THE SHOOTING. HERE’S WHAT HE HAD TO SAY. AS FAR AS LEGISLATION IS CONCERNED, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME. I HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PROTECT THE SECOND AMENDMENT. I RAN ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT, AMONG MANY OTHER THINGS, AND I WILL ALWAYS PROTECT THE SECOND AMENDMENT. AND GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS ALSO WEIGHED IN THIS AFTERNOON ON SOCIAL MEDIA, OFFERING HIS CONDOLENCES TO FLORIDA STATE. CASEY AND I STAND IN SOLIDARITY AND ARE PRAYING FOR THE ENTIRE FLORIDA STATE COMMUNITY. WE’RE MOURNING THE TWO INDIVIDUALS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THIS TRAGIC ATTACK, AND WE WISH WELL THOSE WHO ARE CURRENTLY RECOVERING IN THE HOSPITAL. THIS KILLER MUST AND WILL BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW. AND TODAY WE WERE ABLE TO WITNESS A MASSIVE POLICE RESPONSE FROM FSU PD TO TALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO LOCAL SHERIFF’S OFFICE, TO STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES ALL SWARMING ON CAMPUS. AND PEOPLE TELL US THAT THAT’S THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU CAN STOP THIS SORT OF THING. WESH TOS GAIL PASCHALL-BROWN SPOKE TO THE MANAGEMENT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO STOP AN ACTIVE SHOOTER AND GAIL THE INSIGHT THAT THEY GAVE TODAY REALLY WAS EYE OPENING AS TO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO. ABSOLUTELY. YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO STAY READY IN TERRIBLE TRAGEDIES LIKE THIS. STEPHEN LERNER WITH SEMINOLE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SAYS ONGOING TRAINING IS ESSENTIAL AS HE SENDS HIS HEARTFELT SYMPATHIES TO THE ENTIRE FSU FAMILY. THIS REALLY DOES HIT HARD, YOU KNOW, JUST GIVING MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS TO, YOU KNOW, ALL THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE AFFECTED AT FSU, STEPHEN LERNER IS THE DIVISION MANAGER FOR SEMINOLE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS? EVERYBODY FROM, YOU KNOW, OUR PHONE OPERATORS IN THE 911 CENTER ALL THE WAY UP TO OUR AGENCY LEADERSHIP, HAS A ROLE TO PLAY IN THESE TYPES OF INCIDENTS. AND WE WE HAVE A VERY ROBUST EXERCISING AND TRAINING SCHEDULE WITH OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FIRE PERSONNEL AND THOSE OTHER AGENCIES THAT MAY BE IMPACTED BY THESE TYPES OF MASS SHOOTINGS OR ACTS OF VIOLENCE. JUST NORTH OF BUILDING NINE, ONE SUSPECT IS DOWN. EXERCISES LIKE THIS, WHERE A STOREFRONT INSIDE THE OVIEDO MALL IN SEMINOLE COUNTY BECAME A SCHOOL WITH A SHOOTER INSIDE. ITS TRAINING FOR FIRST RESPONDERS ON HANDLING THE CHAOS AND CONFUSION OF AN ACTIVE SHOOTER. ALL OF THE AMR PERSONNEL, THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED THROUGH THE DOORS. AND THEN THERE’S THIS ANNUAL MASS CASUALTY EXERCISE LAST WEEK IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, INVOLVING MORE THAN 60 HOSPITALS. THIS TYPE OF INCIDENT IS NO STRANGER TO CENTRAL FLORIDA. I WORKED THE ORLANDO PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING AGAIN. STILL, THE COMMUNITY IS WORKING TO RECOVER FROM THAT. IT’S THE RECOVERY THAT HAPPENS ONGOING AFTER FROM, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, BRINGING CLASSES BACK AT, YOU KNOW, AT THE SCHOOL. YOU KNOW, PROVIDING MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING, DONATIONS, MANAGEMENT. YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE THINGS NEED A COORDINATED PROCESS. AND THAT’S WHAT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT’S ROLE IS. LERNER SAYS STOPPING THESE ACTIVE SHOOTER INCIDENTS BEFORE THEY HAPPEN IS SO IMPORTANT, AND THE COMMUNITY’S HELP IS NEEDED. YOU KNOW, IF SOMEBODY SEES SOMETHING, THEY REALLY NEED TO REPORT IT AND SAY SOMETHING TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT. STEVEN LERNER SAYS. EVERY TIME THERE IS AN ACTIVE SHOOTER INCIDENT, THERE’S TYPICALLY A QUESTIONABLE INDIVIDUAL OR SOCIAL MEDIA POST THAT COMES OUT BUT YET GOES UNREPORTED, HE SAYS. LET’S TRY TO STOP IT BEFORE IT TURNS TRAGIC. BACK TO YOU. STEWART. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. GAIL. THANK YOU. AND TOMORROW MORNING, FSU HAS JUST ANNOUNCED FROM EIGHT UNTIL FIVE THEY WILL HAVE A SUPPORT CENTER OPEN FOR ANY STUDENTS OR ANY PERSON IN THE COMMUNITY WHO NEEDS TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED HERE TODAY. AND OF COURSE, WE’VE ALSO LEARNED THAT THE TWO PEOPLE WHO WERE KILLED WERE NOT STUDENTS. WE DO NOT KNOW WHO THE FIVE PEOPLE WERE THAT WERE ALSO INJURED, BUT WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THEY ARE IN FAIR CONDITION. TOMORROW NIGHT AT AROUND 5:00, THERE WILL ALSO BE A VIGIL ON CAMPUS FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY TO GATHER. AND OF COURSE, WESH TWO WILL HAVE CONTINUING COVERAGE OF THE DEADLY MASS SHOOTING AT FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY ON AIR AND [email protected]. WE’LL HAVE A CREW ON CAMPUS TOMORROW MORNING WITH SUNRISE WITH THE NEWEST INFORMATION ON THIS TRAGEDY. REPORTING L

Attorneys: Greenville man killed in FSU mass shooting

The family of a man from Greenville County, South Carolina, has hired attorneys after they said he was killed in Thursday’s mass shooting on Florida State University.

Updated: 4:29 PM EDT Apr 18, 2025

The family of a man from Greenville County, South Carolina, has hired attorneys after they said he was killed in Thursday’s mass shooting at Florida State University.The family of Tiru Chabba, 45, of Greenville, has hired renowned national civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers of The Strom Law Firm and Jim Bannister to ensure that all those who bear responsibility for this senseless act of violence are held to account. The law firm said Chabba was on the FSU campus Thursday as an employee of a campus vendor, when, according to authorities, FSU student Phoenix Ikner, 20, opened fire shortly before noon, killing him and one other and wounding six.According to the law firm, Chabba is survived by his wife and two children.“Tiru Chabba’s family is going through the unimaginable now,” Sellers said. “Instead of hiding Easter eggs and visiting with friends and family, they’re living a nightmare where this loving father and devoted husband was stolen from them in an act of senseless and preventable violence.”“We ask you to keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as we fight to ensure they see justice that honors the memories of Mr. Chabba and all the victims of Thursday’s shooting.”Aramark, the food service and facilities services provider, released a statement: "We are heartbroken to confirm that an Aramark employee was among those killed at FSU yesterday in that senseless act of violence. We are absolutely shaken by the news and our deepest sympathies are with the family and our entire Aramark community."

GREENVILLE, S.C. —

The family of a man from Greenville County, South Carolina, has hired attorneys after they said he was killed in Thursday’s mass shooting at Florida State University.

The family of Tiru Chabba, 45, of Greenville, has hired renowned national civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers of The Strom Law Firm and Jim Bannister to ensure that all those who bear responsibility for this senseless act of violence are held to account.

The Strom Law Firm

The law firm said Chabba was on the FSU campus Thursday as an employee of a campus vendor, when, according to authorities, FSU student Phoenix Ikner, 20, opened fire shortly before noon, killing him and one other and wounding six.

According to the law firm, Chabba is survived by his wife and two children.

“Tiru Chabba’s family is going through the unimaginable now,” Sellers said. “Instead of hiding Easter eggs and visiting with friends and family, they’re living a nightmare where this loving father and devoted husband was stolen from them in an act of senseless and preventable violence.”

“We ask you to keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as we fight to ensure they see justice that honors the memories of Mr. Chabba and all the victims of Thursday’s shooting.”

Aramark, the food service and facilities services provider, released a statement:

"We are heartbroken to confirm that an Aramark employee was among those killed at FSU yesterday in that senseless act of violence. We are absolutely shaken by the news and our deepest sympathies are with the family and our entire Aramark community."