The alleged gunman at Florida State University on Thursday once was at the center of an international child custody dispute.
Phoenix Ikner, 20, allegedly killed two people and wounded at least six others, police said.
The suspect is the stepson of Jessica Ikner, an 18-year veteran deputy of the Leon County Sheriff's Office.
Multiple media outlets reported Friday that Phoenix Ikner previously had been involved in a years-long custody battle between his biological parents. The dispute stretched from the Florida panhandle to Norway, according to court documents.
Phoenix Ikner was known as Christian Gunnar Eriksen at the time of the dispute, ABC News reported.
Eriksen, then 11, was taken by his biological mother to Norway in March 2015 in violation of a custody agreement she had with Christopher Ikner, who was told the child was being taken to South Florida for spring break, according to a probable cause affidavit from the Leon County Sheriff's Office viewed by the New York Post.
"Instead of staying in South Florida, the defendant allegedly fled the country with him in violation of their custody agreement," the affidavit said, ABC News reported. "Mr. Ikner advised that Christian has developmental delays and has special needs which he feared would not be taken care of without access to his doctors here in the United States."
Christopher Ikner learned Christian had been kidnapped during a phone call with his son.
The father then alerted authorities and became concerned because his son "has developmental delays and special needs."
The sheriff's affidavit said Christian and his biological mother were dual citizens of the United States and Norway, and that the child was on medication for "several health and mental issues, to include a growth hormone disorder and ADHD," ABC News reported.
Anne-Mari Eriksen was in custody disputes with Christopher Ikner from 2007 through 2023, CBS News reported.
Christian returned to the U.S. after his mother was arrested at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in July 2015 and later pleaded no contest to illegally removing a child from Florida.
Public records show Christopher Ikner married Jessica in 2010, CBS News added.
Christian Gunnar Eriksen changed his name to Phoenix Ikner in 2020.