A gunman on Friday killed two people and wounded several others at a yoga studio in Florida’s state capital, Tallahassee, before apparently taking his own life, the local chief of police said.
At approximately 5:37pm, the Tallahassee Police Department responded to reports of a shooting at an area yoga studio, where police chief Michael DeLeo said officers “found multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds.”
In a later statement, police said a total of seven killed or injured people had been identified: six with gunshot wounds, and one who was pistol-whipped.
They also identified the shooter as 40-year-old Scott Paul Beierle, whose motive was unknown.
Two of those shot died of their injuries, while two of the wounded people were in hospital in a stable condition and three had been released.
“There are indications that several people inside fought back and tried to not only save themselves, but other people, which is a testament to their courage,” DeLeo said.
The shooting appeared to be the act of a single person, with no further threat to the community perceived at the time, DeLeo said.
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who is running for governor of Florida and cut short a campaign event to return to the city, tweeted: “I’m deeply appreciative of law enforcement’s quick response to the shooting at the yoga facility in Tallahassee today.”
Separately, shooters in an apparent gang-related retaliation opened fire on the wrong house in suburban Las Vegas, killing an 11-year-old girl in the kitchen, police said on Friday.
A neighbor on his way to work saw the gunfire late on Thursday on a quiet residential street and shot with his legally owned handgun at the car as it pulled away, wounding a 19-year-old passenger, North Las Vegas assistant police chief Pamela Ojeda said.
The girl’s father and mother, 33 and 30, and two sisters, 14 and six, were not harmed as their house was raked with gunfire, Ojeda said as she asked for the public’s help finding the shooters.
“No parent should have to deal with a tragedy like this,” the police official said.
The 17-year-old driver of the getaway car called police after it broke down a few blocks away, saying the car had been hit with random gunfire and he was trying to get his friend to a hospital.
The 19-year-old was hospitalized and was in a grave condition with a head wound, police officer Eric Leavitt said.
Witnesses reported the vehicle stopped in front of the girl’s house before three people stepped from the backseat and opened fire with shotguns and handguns at the two-story stucco home.
The girl was struck by at least one bullet that Leavitt said entered through a window or wall.
She died at a hospital in Las Vegas, Leavitt said.
The 53-year-old neighbor who Leavitt said fired at the car from his open garage was interviewed by police.
Ojeda said he was a cooperating witness and was not charged with a crime.
Police said they believed the shooters intended to target another house in the area in retaliation for a gang dispute.
The driver was being held as a juvenile and was expected to face felony murder, attempted murder and conspiracy charges, Ojeda said.
The wounded suspect will face the same charges, if he survives, she said.
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