Man shoots six at Florida yoga studio, killing two and then himself

A man walked into a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida, on Friday evening and shot six people — two fatally — before killing himself, police said.

Police were called to the studio, Hot Yoga Tallahassee, shortly after 5:30 pm. “Upon arriving on scene, officers found multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds,” Michael DeLeo, chief of the Tallahassee Police Department, said at a news conference Friday night. The shooter was dead when officers arrived.

DeLeo added that several victims were taken to local hospitals, some with critical injuries. Not all of those injured had been shot; one was pistol-whipped. The police did not immediately release the name of the gunman and said they did not know the motive for the attack.

“All indications are this is the act of a single person. There is no immediate threat to our community,” DeLeo said. “Obviously we are all very saddened and shocked by the events that occurred.”

He later said there were “indications that several people inside fought back and tried to not only save themselves but other people, which is a testament their courage.”

A yoga class had been scheduled to begin at the studio at 5:30 pm, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

“In my public service career I have had to be on some bad scenes,” Scott Maddox, a city commissioner, said in a post on Facebook. “This is the worst. Please pray.”

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, a Democrat who is running against Republican Ron DeSantis for governor of Florida, said in a tweet Friday evening that he was “deeply appreciative of law enforcement’s quick response to the shooting at the yoga facility in Tallahassee today.”

“No act of gun violence is acceptable,” he added. “I’m in close communication with law enforcement officials and will be returning to Tallahassee tonight.”

In a tweet, DeSantis called the news of the shooting “heart-breaking,” adding that he and his wife, Casey DeSantis, were “praying for the families of the victim whose life was tragically taken tonight and those taken to the hospital with injuries.”

© 2018 New York Times News Service