The gunman in a fatal attack at Florida State University had a history of espousing radical right-wing conspiracy theories and hateful ideas.

As multiple rounds of gunfire erupted near Florida State University’s student union minutes before noon on Thursday, hordes of students ran away from the campus trying to get to safety as the sound of emergency sirens grew louder.

Morales, who worked in FSU's dining services department for the past nine years, had deep roots in South Florida, growing up in Hialeah and was the son of the late Ricardo "Monkey" Morales, a former CIA operative and anti-Castro militant.