Gunshots rang out across campus on April 17, 2025, at Florida State University. Just before noon a shooter opened fire near the school’s student union, killing two and injuring six. 

Authorities identified the suspect as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, the son of a Leon county deputy. In an interview with NBC, Sheriff Walter McNeil said that the young man “unfortunately had access to one of his mother’s weapons,” which was found at the crime scene. 

This incident, along with countless others, raises a question of gun laws in the United States, and what this could mean for other universities including DePaul. 

Tom Henkey, part-time lecturer at DePaul and former emergency management coordinator for the city of Chicago, shares that while this particular shooting followed common trends, there were some aspects that authorities found unusual. 

Henley explained that one of the things that made the FSU shooting unique was the weapon used. Instead of an assault rifle, the suspect was armed with a handgun, which Henkey said was “legally held by a family member.”  

Cheryl Hover, associate director of emergency management at DePaul University, said she has been “thinking about what would happen in an active shooter situation on campus for many years.” Hover explained that DePaul’s campus safety works directly with the Chicago Police Department in all emergency situations. 

Along with faculty, some students at DePaul also think about what might happen in an active shooter situation. 

Melissa Pascotescu, an accounting major at DePaul, said she is worried about what would happen in the event of a shooting. 

“I am thinking about it constantly when I’m walking around,” she said.

In response to this anxiety among the student body, DePaul began including a safety segment during every new student orientation. 

Hover says that there is a DPU alert system to communicate in all DePaul buildings in the case of an active shooter. She said the university has prerecorded safety messages to play in case no one can make a live announcement. This way, a message can be given across campus, in case someone does not have their phone or is not in the central campus area. 

DePaul has also added new door locks to classrooms, and instructions on how to use these locks are given to students during the orientation safety segment.

Along with safety precautions on campus, Illinois has also enacted laws to prioritize safety. 

According to Giffords Law Center, “Illinois has among the strongest gun safety laws, ranking #3 in the country for gun law strength.” 

The state has 78 gun regulations including on owning, selling and operating a weapon, according to the Illinois State Government, 

Following the mass shooting during a parade in Highland Park on July 4, 2022, Illinois lawmakers took action to address gun violence and enacted critical gun safety laws, including a prohibition on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, according to Illinois state law. 

BBC News found that in the United States there were 120.5 firearms in possession for every 100 citizens, making the U.S. the top civilian gun-owning country, followed by Yemen and Serbia. 

Henkey explains that, “we aren’t going to arrest our way out of this problem, or legislate our way out, there are just too many guns in the United States for that.” 

“It’s not going to be one single thing that does it, it’s going to have to be a societal change.” 

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