By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that 20-year-old, Phoenix Ikner the alleged shooter involved in the deadly shooting at Florida State University, grew up in a fatherless home that included a significant overseas custody battle and increasing concerns about his mental health?
In 2015, when Ikner was approximately 10 years old, his biological mother, Anne Mari Eriksen, took him to Norway violating the custody agreement with his father, Christopher Ikner. She initially told his father they were traveling to South Florida for spring break. This news is significant because according to the National Fatherhood Initiative, statistically, fatherless homes within the United States produce 93% of all mass shooters.
Court records also show that in October of 2015, Ikner’s birth mother filed a lawsuit against the boy’s father, Christopher Ikner and Ikner’s wife, Jesica Ikner who is a deputy sheriff in Leon County. Eriksen accused them of harassment and slander over years of litigation in family court.
Ikner’s father reported that the child had developmental delays and special needs, and was on medication for several health and mental issues, including ADHD and a growth hormone disorder. Eriksen was arrested when she returned to the U.S. via Fort Lauderdale Airport the following July and was sentenced to 200 days in jail, 170 of which she had already served, followed by two years of community control and probation.