Gunman kills at least four women at fitness center outside Pittsburgh

A man carrying a duffel bag walked into a rear door of the L.A. Fitness center in Collier, Pa., on Tuesday evening and opened fire, killing at least four people and wounding as many as 10.

Allegheny County police said they believe the gunman was among the dead.

The wounded were transported to UPMC Mercy, Allegheny General and St.Clair hospitals, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
UPMC Mercy spokeswoman Linda Ross said her facility received five of them — all with multiple gunshot wounds who initially were listed in critical condition. Three later were upgraded to serious condition.

At St. Clair Hospital, spokesman Rich Seiber said three women were brought there with bullet wounds. One of them died of a chest wound at 8:54 p.m.

The other two, in their 20s and 30s, were in good and stable condition, one with a shoulder wound and the other with a leg wound.

Stacey Falk, 26, of Bridgeville, said she was in an aerobics room about 8:15 p.m with 30 to 40 other women when a short, clean-shaven man, dressed in workout clothes, walked in with a duffel bag. He stood in a corner near a racquetball court for a moment, put the bag down and turned off the lights in the room.

Then shots rang out, and people began falling to the floor. Ms. Falk said she briefly got a look at what appeared to be a short-barrel rifle.

“Girls were just ducking behind each other. All I could hear were gunshots and girls screaming, screaming. Girls were running into each other. We were using each other for protection.

“There was blood on the floor and casings all over the place. I didn’t know it was real until I saw the casings on the floor.”

At a press conference late tonight, Allegheny County Police Superintendent Charles Moffat said the gunman had two weapons.

“He walked right into the room as if he knew exactly where he was going,” Superintendent Moffat said.

Detectives were working to identify the dead and the wounded.

“As you can imagine, at a fitness club, they don’t have their IDs on them, people don’t know who they are,” he said.

Collier officers were called to the fitness center at 8:16 p.m., and the shooting had already ended. Police said the gunfire was contained to an aerobics room, where detectives recovered the two guns. Three bodies remained inside the room this morning. The fourth victim died en route to St. Clair Hospital.

Neither Superintendent Moffatt nor Collier Police Chief Thomas Devin could offer a motive for the shooting, saying the investigation was just beginning.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” the superintendent said.

Click here for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story.