JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two Florida State University freshmen from the First Coast recounted moments of fear and disbelief Thursday after a mass shooting on campus left two people dead and several others wounded.

Dakota Conaway-Ellis, a freshman from Baker County, and Nicholas Damone, a freshman from Jacksonville, were both near the center of campus when the university issued a midday alert about an active shooter near the student union.

The warning sent students scrambling for safety and forced a campus-wide lockdown for hours.

“It’s a matter of protecting innocent people,” Conaway-Ellis said. “This is not a political matter. People’s lives are being affected, lives are being taken. This will most likely leave a permanent scar on FSU.”

Authorities identified the suspected shooter as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, a student and the stepson of a local sheriff’s deputy.

 Ikner allegedly opened fire with a handgun he accessed from his stepmother, a Leon County deputy.

The attack began around 11:50 a.m. near the student union, killing two individuals who were not students and injuring six others.

Ikner was apprehended and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after failing to comply with police commands.

Damone had just walked past the student union on his way to his dorm when the alert sounded.

“It’s terrible, I mean, I was here to go to school and hang out with friends and enjoy our college life,” he said.

Conaway-Ellis, who was near his dorm, described receiving urgent instructions from his resident advisor as emergency sirens blared and communicating with his parents, both retired law enforcement officers, for guidance.

“I’m over here talking to my mom and my dad… giving me instructions on what I need to do and everything,” he said. 

Both students said the campus community is shaken and still processing the tragedy.

“It could have been me, it could have been my friends,” Conaway-Ellis said.

As students prepare to leave campus for the weekend, many are calling for more than condolences. They just want to feel safe.

“Do better, do better, because, I mean, while it is nice to hear that we’re in people’s thoughts, at the end of the day, thoughts and prayers aren’t bringing anybody back,” Conaway-Ellis said.

FSU canceled all classes and events for the day as investigators continued to piece together what happened.