Two people were killed and five others were injured when a man opened fire at a Florida yoga studio on Nov. 2 before killing himself.
Scott P. Beierle, 40, was posing as a customer at Hot Yoga Tallahassee, Tallahassee, Florida, when he abruptly brandished a handgun from a duffel bag and began shooting, according to a report by The New York Times.
Maura Binkley, a 21-year old student at Florida State University, and Nancy Van Vessem, 61, a faculty member at the university, were both killed. Four women and one man sustained injuries, the latter of whom fought with Beierle over his handgun.
"I jumped up as quickly as I could," Joshua Quick, who was pistol-whipped by Beierle, told ABC News. "I ran back over and the next thing I know I'm grabbing a broom, the only thing I can, and I hit [Beierle] again."
Beierle fatally shot himself before police officers arrived at the yoga studio, according to a CNN report.
Beierle lived in Deltona, Florida, approximately four hours southeast of Tallahassee, and was staying at a hotel in Tallahassee prior to the shooting, the Times reported. He was a military veteran and a graduate of Florida State University who had been arrested at least twice, once on charges of battery against women.
Beierle previously posted YouTube videos in which he ranted against minorities and women, particularly women he believed had rejected or wronged him, according to BuzzFeed.
“There are no words to express the shock and grief we feel,” John Thrasher, president of Florida State University, posted on Twitter after the shooting. “To lose one of our students and one of our faculty members in this tragic and violent way is just devastating to the FSU family.”
As of Nov. 5, a GoFundMe campaign has already raised more than $11,000 for Hot Yoga Tallahassee operator Brittani DeZeeuw Whittington.
“Our tiny little sacred yoga studio in our tiny little city is being lifted up by the world,” Whittington said in a Nov. 4 Facebook post. “I don’t even feel like we deserve it. But I am speechless. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. My best friends husband has just made this and my heart is overwhelmed. I love the idea of having something to remember Nancy and Maura by and to be able to support their families however needed. The power of this community is no longer limited to Tallahassee, this community is world wide.”