Three women are dead after a lone gunman entered a Pittsburgh area LA Fitness gym and opened fire. Allegheny County Police confirm at least 10 other victims were injured at the LA Fitness shooting.
A Pittsburgh law firm employee entered a Pennsylvania LA Fitness and opened fire killing 3 women confirms Allegheny County police officials.
Pittsburgh, PA–A late Tuesday evening workout session ended in horror for members at an LA Fitness gym outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when a lone gunman entered and opened fire. Law enforcement sources state 48 year-old, LA Fitness gym member, George Sodini, entered the popular nationwide workout studio, turned off the lights, and fired 50 rounds of ammunition into the exercise studio, as reported by CNN early Wednesday morning.
The fatal murder suicide shooting left 3 women dead and at least 10 other victims injured after Sodini’s killing rampage before he turned his weapon on himself. Allegheny County Police officials reported Sodini, a systems analyst for K&L Gates LLP, a Pittsburgh law firm, entered the gym at about 8 p.m., walked into the aerobics studio where an active class was in session, and unloaded ammunition from multiple handguns. The shooting victims were transported to numerous area hospitals by Pittsburgh area emergency medical services (EMS) personnel for treatment of their critical injuries by doctors and nurses.
UPMC Mercy Hospital and Allegheny General Hospital confirmed victims were treated in their emergency room and trauma center. Sodini a member of LA Fitness, a privately owned, Irvine, California based, American health club with over 1.5 million members across 16 U.S. states and Canada, as of 2008, was an employee of K&L Gates law firm since 1999 in the finance department. K&L Gates is an international law firm boasting 1,900 lawyers on three continents. According to K&L Gates’ Internet website http://www.klgates.com/Home.aspx, the main areas of litigation experience and expertise are listed as follows: corporate and financial services law, intellectual property suits, litigation and dispute resolution, policy and regulatory legal expertise, and real estate cases.
A press conference is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. The names of the victims were released by a county medical examiner Wednesday morning as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer: Heidi Overmier, 46, of Carnegie; Elizabeth Gannon, 49, of Pittsburgh; and Jody Billingsly, 38, of Mount Lebanon. Speculations regarding an ex-girlfriend of Sodini being one of the dead women and a possible target of his rage has not been confirmed.
Heather L. Ryan, legal news reporter for Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers and Pittsburgh victims.