Law Enforcement Medal Created, Awarded To Officer Who Shot FSU Assailant

By Liv Caputo and Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix

May 20, 2026

Cody Poppell, a Florida State University police officer, was honored Wednesday with a new law enforcement award for rapidly bringing a gunman’s campus attack to an end just three minutes after the April 2025 school shooting began.

“Amid the chaos, Officer Poppell acted swiftly, rode his motorcycle over several curbs, sidewalks, into the heart of our campus and confronted the threat head-on without really ever dismounting off of his motorcycle,” Poppell’s police chief, Jason Trumbower, said during the 2025 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year ceremony in Havana.

He “made some incredible shots from over 30 yards away. 
It was pretty amazing,” Trumbower added. “[He] fired multiple shots and he brought the situation to an end and, without a doubt, he prevented many more tragedies that day.”

Poppell was given the inaugural Moment of Valor award. The accolade came just a day after his actions won him Tallahassee State College’s 2026 Chris Connell Merit Award. Wednesday’s main title — Officer of the Year — went to Detective Eva Solis with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office for investigating and capturing a serial child predator.

According to grand jury documents and body cam footage, Poppell sped his motorcycle throughout FSU’s campus as soon as shots began to ring out at 11:57 a.m. on April 17, 2025. Three minutes and three seconds later, while still straddling his bike, Poppell fired multiple shots at the 20-year-old accused assailant Phoenix Ikner, striking him in the jaw and immediately ending the rampage.

Ikner, however, had already shot to death two and wounded five others outside of FSU’s Student Union during final exam season, prosecutors say. They’re seeking the death penalty. The Phoenix previously reported that Ikner, in the hours and minutes leading to the attack, used ChatGPT to tell him the busiest time of day and how to properly fire his guns.

The widows of the two killed are suing OpenAI, while Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has launched a first-in-the-nation criminal investigation into the artificial intelligence platform for its role — if any — in the attack.

Poppell has served in FSU’s police department since 2020 as a motor officer with a uniformed patrol division. Before that, he served seven years with the Florida Department of Corrections, “where he developed a strong foundation in public safety, professionalism, and service,” Trumbower said Wednesday.

“Officer Poppell’s heroic response to an April 17, 2025, active assailant incident exemplifies the highest values of the Florida State University Police Department,” the chief said. “His actions were instrumental in protecting lives and maintaining public safety during a critical incident.”

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