The Florida State University dining manager and his boss who was in town for a visit were both killed when a gunman opened fire.

The tragic incident at the Tallahassee campus took the lives of Tiru Chabba, who was a regional vice president at Aramark Collegiate Hospitality, and FSU dining coordinator Robert Morales. It occurred on Thursday and has deeply impacted the community.

FSU student Phoenix Ikner, 20, wounded six others in his rampage through the university before he was shot and arrested by police.

Tiru Chabba, aged 45, resided in Simpsonville, South Carolina, and was responsible for overseeing the South East region within Aramark’s division that focuses on providing catering services to college campuses.

He was visiting FSU for meetings with staff and university officials and in the wrong place at the wrong time when Ikner opened fire.

Chabba worked for Aramark for more than 25 years, working his way up to his high-level position in October 2022.

Aramark Collegiate Hospitality regional vice president Tiru Chabba was killed in the Florida State University mass shooting on Thursday

The veteran executive was mourned on social media by colleagues, some of whom described the chaotic scene.

Expressing the shock and sorrow over the loss, FSU restaurant manager Anthony Cicatello shared that Tiru Chabba was not just a colleague but also his regional vice president, emphasizing the personal connection and devastating nature of the tragedy.

‘I didnt know him well but the times I shook his hand in passing while visiting locations on campus I know he was great person and colleague. 

‘It’s sad that we have to experience these things in our workplace let alone on a collegiate campus. We had a visiting group of 60 middle school kids touring campus and eating in our dining hall when this occurred. 

‘I can only imagine what those little kids were going through as they were underneath the chairs and tables in my dining hall fearing for their lives.’

Morales had worked at the university as a dining coordinator for over nine years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

‘Today we lost my younger brother. He was one of the victims killed at FSU,’ his older brother Ricardo said.

‘He loved his job at FSU and his beautiful Wife and Daughter. I’m glad you were in my Life.’

In a statement, his employer Aramark said: ‘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.’

Robert Morales was shot dead on the Tallahassee campus after 20-year-old student Phoenix Ikner opened fire, killing one other

Phoenix Ikner, seen here, is currently in hospital while in custody after being shot by officers at the scene 

Six others were also injured in the shooting, with two of those expected to be discharged from Tallahassee Memorial hospital at some point on Friday. 

Three other victims’ conditions are said to be improving, a spokesperson said, while another remained ‘in fair condition’. 

The campus was locked down as gunfire erupted, with students ordered to shelter in place as first responders swarmed the site moments after the lunchtime shootings.

Ikner is the son of a sheriff’s deputy and had used her gun in his rampage, which killed 2 people and injured six others. 

Ikner is currently in custody in hospital, after he was shot by officers at the scene. 

Witnesses spoke of chaos as people began running through the sprawling campus as shots rang out near the student union.

‘Everyone just started running out of the student union,’ a witness named Wayne told local news station WCTV.

‘About a minute later, we heard about eight to 10 gunshots’, he said he saw one man who appeared to have been shot in the midsection.

He added: ‘The whole entire thing was just surreal. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Everything was really quiet, then all chaotic.

Police officers walk past flowers left at the scene on Thursday afternoon 

Ikner is the son of a sheriff’s deputy and had used her gun in his rampage

Ikner is seen in the above still stalking the campus with the firearm as the shooting unfolded 

Former classmates of Ikner have since said that he held ‘white supremacist’ beliefs and ‘espoused far right rhetoric’. 

Speaking to NBC after the shooting, a student who was once part of a ‘political round table’ with Ikner revealed he harbored white supremacist views.

‘Basically our only rule was no Nazis — colloquially speaking — and he espoused so much white supremacist rhetoric and far right rhetoric as well,’ Reid Seybold said.

Seybold, who was president of the club, said he had to kick Ikner out of the group due to his beliefs and rhetoric. 

Officials said his mother is Leon County Sheriff’s Deputy Jessica Ikner, noting that he had access to one of her weapons which was then found at the scene. 

Leon County Sheriff McNeil said at a press conference Thursday the gunman was a member of the department’s youth set-up and was involved in training programs.

Ikner was described as ‘steeped in the Leon County Sheriff’s Office family.’ 

Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said the gun was previously used by his mother for law enforcement, but was her private handgun at the time of the shooting, because deputies ‘are allowed to purchase the handgun they used prior.’