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FSU shooting: Lawyers for family of victim killed call for transparency, thorough investigation

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Published  April 30, 2025 11:38am EDT
FSU shooting: News & Updates
FOX 35 Orlando

The Brief

    • Attorneys for the family of Tiru Chabba hosted a news conference on Wednesday morning in Tallahasee, Florida, calling for full transparency and a thorough investigation of the deadly Florida State University (FSU) shooting.
    • Chabba, a 45-year-old father of two, was one of the two men killed in the mass shooting. Six others were injured.
    • Chabba was laid to rest last week, surrounded by his family and friends, at a funeral in Greenville, South Carolina.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The attorneys representing the family of Tiru Chabba, one of the two victims killed earlier this month in the Florida State University (FSU) shooting, are calling for full transparency and a thorough investigation of the deadly incident. 

Chabba was laid to rest last week, surrounded by his family and friends, at a funeral in Greenville, South Carolina.

Loved ones described Chabba as a compassionate individual with a profound sense of humor, and diligence and passion for his work.

Attorneys call for transparency, thorough investigation 

What we know:

The news conference was held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday outside the FSU Student Union in Tallahassee, Florida.

Chabba's family is being represented by national civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers. Both Jim Bannister and J Robert Bell III spoke at the news conference and answered questions from the media.

The attorneys said the Chabba family is now ready to take action, and they are seeking answers in the shooting investigation. They are requesting law enforcement officials investigate the shooting with a sense of urgency. 

The attorneys said they are looking for accountability in the criminal process and from FSU to see if there was anything that could have been done to prevent the incident, as well as to prevent further incidnets in the future.

Lawyers for family of victim killed in FSU shooting speak

Attorneys for the family of Tiru Chabba hosted a news conference on Wednesday morning in Tallahasee, Florida, calling for full transparency and a thorough investigation of the deadly Florida State University (FSU) shooting. Chabba, a 45-year-old father of two, was one of the two men killed in the mass shooting. Six others were injured.

What they're saying:

During the news conference, the attorneys asked the media not to bring up the alleged shooter in the incident, a 20-year-old FSU student named Phoenix Ikner.

"We are not in the business of lifting up people who caused that type of harm and damage to our community," the attorneys said. "If there are any names you want to lift up, lift up the names of those who were murdered that day and those who were injured."

"The Chabba family has realized that there is a mourning period that will never really end," the attorneys said. "They will never get over missing Tiru. He won't be there to see his children graduate from high school, he won't be there to see them married, have his grandchildren."

"It's hard to process the grief appropriately without a real understanding of everything that happened that day," the attorneys said. 

Who was Tiru Chabba?

Dig deeper:

Chabba was a resident of Greenville, South Carolina, but was on the FSU campus as an employee of vendor Aramark Collegiate Hospitality.

Aramark officials told FOX 35 News that Chabba was the regional vice president of the company. They said he helped to distribute free lunches, donated by Aramark, on the Bob Jones University campus after Hurricane Helene in October. 

"His care for others and joyful spirit were evident in the days following Hurricane Helene when he personally visited our campus to support recovery efforts and distribute free lunches to the community," Aramark officials said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time."

Chabba was a husband and father of two children.

Who was the other victim killed in the shooting?

Chabba was one of two men killed in the shooting.

The other man has been identified as 57-year-old Robert Morales, a dining coordinator who had been with the school since 2015, according to Florida State University.

Carlos Cruz, a friend of Morales, spoke with FOX 35 to share some details about Morales' life. Cruz said Morales had attended FSU and would spend a lot of time walking around the Student Union, where his office was. 

Cruz said Morales was passionate about food, opening a popular restaurant in Tallahassee called "Gordo’s" and later left it to lead dining services at FSU. Cruz said Morales often talked with students about their dining experience to try and make it better for them.

Cruz also shared that Morales had received a new kidney a few years ago, but wasn’t doing well, and he had just gotten on the list to get a new one before he was killed.

Morales was also a former coach at Lean County High School. 

Morales was a husband and the father of one daughter.

FSU Shooting: Learning more about the victims

FOX 35's Randi Hildreth joined FOX 35's Garrett Wymer to break down her conversation with a friend of Robert Morales, a Florida restaurant owner who was killed in the FSU shooting. At a news conference this afternoon, Tallahassee Memorial Hospital staff announced the six surviving victims are expected to make full recoveries.

FOX 35 previous coverage

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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the attorneys for the family of Tiru Chabba in a news conference on April 30, 2025.

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