FAMILY'S GRIEF
FSU shooting victim Robert Morales was son of notorious CIA spy killed in bar fight as heartbroken brother speaks out
The victim's brother confirmed his death on social media
A MAN killed in the Florida State University shooting was the son of a notorious Cold War Cuban-American CIA operative.
Robert Morales, 57, was one of two people murdered during the shooting at FSU in Tallahassee, Florida, on Thursday afternoon.
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Morales was working at the university’s department of dining services and gathered for a meeting when the shooting began.
His brother, Rick Morales Jr,, confirmed his death on X late Thursday night.
"Today we lost my younger Brother, He was one of the victims killed at FSU," he wrote.
"He loved his job at FSU and his beautiful Wife and Daughter. I’m glad you were in my Life."
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Robert was the son of Ricardo “Monkey” Morales, who worked as an anti-Castro militant throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Miami Herald reported.
The CIA operative died at 43 years old in 1982 following a bar fight in Miami.
His death was deemed a "justifiable homicide," however, rumors swirled that he didn't really die in a bar fight due to his controversial job.
Robert, who was a teenager at the time, was deeply affected by the death, according to his brother.
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The victim's father played a key role during the Cold War-era espionage and played roles in major government agencies such as the CIA, FBI, DEA, the Israeli Mossad and Venezuela’s DISIP.
Robert's father had numerous brushes with the law but was often protected from prosecution.
Chilling post by FSU ‘gunman’ Phoenix Ikner as vile comments that got him thrown out of club before shooting revealed
Ricardo took part in the 1961 failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, as he worked with the CIA to defeat Fidel Castro.
The CIA operative is also believed to have taken part in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner, where 73 people died, according to Department of State records.
Robert's older brother, Rick Jr., claimed that their father also had ties to JFK's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
Rick Jr. said his father worked as a sniper instructor in the 1960s, where he helped train Oswald following Kennedy's death.
REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS
Robert was one of two people killed and six others injured during Thursday's shooting.
Tiru Chabba was the other victim killed in Thursday's shooting.
FSU shooting timeline
- 12:01 pm: An active shooter was first reported by the FSU student union, police are on their way
- 12:19 pm: FSU confirmed police were on the scene and instructed students to shelter in place
- 12:45 pm: A video is shared of students and faculty walking through campus with their hands up
- 12:58 pm: Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare confirmed they are treating those injured in the shooting
- 1:01 pm: FBI confirmed agents are on campus investigating the shooting
- 1:04 pm: FSU notified students that law enforcement is clearing rooms on the main campus
- 1:45 pm: Leon County school district instructs high schoolers to stay away from FSU's campus
- 1:48 pm: Donald Trump says he has been 'fully briefed' on the situation
- 1:50 pm: The Associated Press initially reports that six victims are in the hospital and a suspect has been apprehended
- 2:44 pm: FSU classes and campus activities are canceled through April 18. Students are allowed to return to residence halls, but are otherwise told to stay in place
- 3:20 pm: FSU confirms that law enforcement has neutralized the threat and lifts stay-in-place order
- 3:51 pm: Student Union, Bellamy, HCB Classroom Building, Rovetta A&B, Moore Auditorium, Shaw, Pepper, Hecht House and Carraway buildings are closed
The 45-year-old father of two worked as the Aramark Collegiate Hospitality regional vice president.
“Tiru Chabba’s family is going through the unimaginable now,” the family's attorney Bakari Sellers said in a statement.
“Instead of hiding Easter eggs and visiting with friends and family, they’re living a nightmare where this loving father and devoted husband was stolen from them in an act of senseless and preventable violence.”
“We ask you to keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as we fight to ensure they see justice that honors the memories of Mr. Chabba and all the victims of Thursday’s shooting.”
The suspected shooter, 20-year-old FSU student Phoenix Izner, allegedly used a gun owned by his mom, who worked as a Deputy Sheriff for 18 years.
As of the morning of April 18, authorities have not officially identified any of the victims.
A spokesperson for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare told CBS News that two of the living gunshot victims were expected to be discharged, three others are in good condition, and one is in fair condition.
Students and community members have already begun memorializing the two lives lost and six others injured during the shooting.
Balloons, teddy bears, flowers, and handwritten notes are stacked outside the FSU Student Union, where the tragedy occurred.
"We pray that something like this never happens again," a student tearfully said during the memorial, according to CBS News.
"But right now, we just need each other."
FSU's president, Richard McCullough, shared a statement hours after the shooting, saying he is "heartbroken" over the "tragic and senseless act of violence."
"Right now, our focus is on taking care of people. That means the victims and their families," the president wrote.
"It means students, faculty, and staff who were nearby and are now trying to make sense of what they experienced. And it means every person in our campus community who is feeling shaken or overwhelmed."
A campus-wide vigil is scheduled to be held the afternoon of April 18.
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SUSPECT'S MOM LASHES OUT
The birth mother of the alleged shooter, Phoenix Ikner, threw insults in a social media tirade right before her son was named as the suspect.
Ikner was stuck in the middle of a 15-year-long custody battle between his birth mother, Anne-Mari Eriksen, and father, Christopher Ikner.
In 2015, during the battle, Eriksen accused Christopher and his wife Jessica of slander in a lawsuit which was dismissed a year later.
That same year, Anne-Mari was found guilty of illegally removing er son from Florida.
Court documents show that in March 2015, the mother took her son to Norway, where she and her son have dual citizenship, without permission from Christopher.
She was arrested in July of that year.
On Thursday, Eriksen attacked the Ikner family online, calling Christopher unstable and accused him of ignoring her questions about her son.
The mother called Christopher "nuts" as she went on to belittle his parenting abilities.
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“He should write a book on how to parent badly, but he can't communicate,” she claimed.
Phoenix seemingly tried to erase his connection from Anne-Mari when he legally changed his name from Christian Eriksen to Phoenix Ikner in 2020.