Terrifying details about university amok runner: He was abducted by his own mother as a child
Florida/USA - After the gruesome images from Thursday evening in the US state of Florida, new details about the suspected assassin are now coming to light: His mother is said to have abducted him as a child and fled with him to Norway - around a decade before the deadly rampage at Florida State University, during a bitter custody dispute.
As reported by the New York Post , Anne-Mari Eriksen and her son and attacker Phoenix Ikner (20) have both American and Norwegian citizenship.
In 2015, the mother deceived her then ex-partner Christopher Ikner. At the time, she claimed that she only wanted to travel to South Florida with Phoenix for a vacation.
However, instead of staying there, she took him to Norway and thus violated the existing custody agreement.
Although Anne-Mari had visitation rights, she was not allowed to take her son out of the country without prior notice, it is said.
Phoenix Ikner had health and psychological problems
The father only found out that his then eleven-year-old son was no longer in the USA after a phone call.
After a long back and forth, Anne-Mari promised her ex that she would bring Phoenix back a few days later, but this did not happen.
Christopher then immediately informed the authorities and expressed great concern, as the 11-year-old had "developmental delays and special needs" that could not be adequately treated without access to his doctors.
According to police records , Phoenix was on multiple medications for physical and mental health conditions, including a growth disorder and ADHD.
Assassin kills two people in rampage at university
It was not until almost four months later that Anne-Mari brought him back to the United States, where she was arrested at the airport. She later pleaded guilty to unlawfully taking the child out of the country.
Yesterday, Thursday, just over ten years later, Phoenix opened fire on the campus of the university in Tallahassee, killing two people and injuring five others.
Heavily armed police stormed the scene and shot the 20-year-old after he failed to comply with the officers' instructions. He was arrested and is currently being treated in hospital.
According to official information, the two victims were not university students. A possible motive for the gruesome act is not yet known.