Fatal Shooting in Pittsburgh Area Gym: 4 confirmed dead

[jtyangel]

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/20283352/detail.html

COLLIER TOWNSHIP, Pa. --  Authorities have identified a possible suspect in a Collier Township fitness club shooting that killed four people and wounded as many 15.

ABC News reported the suspect is George Sodini, of Pittsburgh.

"I've never seen nothing quite like this," Allegheny County police Superintendent Charles Moffatt said. "It was very chaotic."

Four people were killed after a gunman opened fire at the LA Fitness gym in Collier Township before possibly taking his own life.

Police said the gunman walked into the gym with at least 2 handguns hidden in his gym bag around 8 p.m. He made his way to an aerobics room where at least 20 people were working out, police said.

Nutbag!

This happened last night. I got to a class like this one twice a week(going in a few minutes in fact) and we have something like 40-50 in ours. I can't imagine!

Word has it the instructor was pregnant is also one of the fatalities and the nutjob was in there enacting his version of revenge on his ex-girlfriend who had dumped him earlier in the day(she was wounded). WTF is wrong with people?

[terry]

This happened about 10 minutes from my home.  My son used to take trumpet lessons at a music store in that shopping center.   It's just a pretty typical suburban area.  It's sort of shocking.  I guess it's shocking for any area.  It's just shocking for me because it's an area that I frequent. 

Thinking about it, we did have one other whack job go nuts here.  Richard Baumhammers...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Baumhammers
He was in my step daughter's home room.

I guess it happens everywhere, even the middle class burbs of Pittsburgh.

[terry]

This guy was one crazy nut job.   A nut job with a blog..
 http://georgesodini.com/20090804.htm

No one apparently read his blog?  No family members, no friends, no girlfriend?

[thundley4]

This guy was one crazy nut job.   A nut job with a blog..
 http://georgesodini.com/20090804.htm

No one apparently read his blog?  No family members, no friends, no girlfriend?

diots:
Andy Pulkowski - I have been in barrooms and church groups. The worst people by far are the religious types. Especially a right-wing, stiff-faced fundie like Andy. A condescending, demeaning, passive-aggresive person. Frigid, rigid, linear and totally inflexible. Being a very serious person, he cannot hide his frown-lined face. He better not try to smile; lest his face might crack. I knew children of parents who grew up in strict religious homes. Religion has a certain stink to it of guilt, shame, fear, and that moral standard that always contradicts the natural tendencies and desires of a person. Therin lies the conflict. Young person cannot experiment with things to decide on their own and establish their own parameters. So they tend to cut loose and really rebel much worse than the average young person. Ma and Pa never know what goes on. They easily BS their parents because they want to believe their little one is an angel. Andy has a young daughter Bethany Pulkowski away at college, High Point University. I saw her picture on his desk. She's your basic, attractive, young girl. Please reread my entry made on Nov 5th. That's only one thing she can do. You Andy types out there need to further strengthen your strict resolve and do more of the same thing! Because those girls were great when I recall my college years! She is someone's (or many guy's) little hoe now, I am sure.

Another point about andy. How can someone be cold, vicious, sarcastic and generally nasty ALL THE TIME and then make the claim about their church life and how good they are? Total hypocritical idiots.

That's all for now. That felt good.

He sound like a left wing nutjob.

[Flame]

Holy crap...what a nutjob!  And according to his blog, he doesn't have a girlfriend, so it couldn't be he was targeting her.

[terry]

Holy crap...what a nutjob!  And according to his blog, he doesn't have a girlfriend, so it couldn't be he was targeting her.

Yea it's interesting that the press reports are saying his ex-girlfriend was in the class and was shot.

The other weird thing in the blog is this
After the gym, I stopped at Shop N Save and got a fifth of vodka and a small bottle of Jack Daniels.

You cannot and have never been able to buy any booze at Shop N Save or any grocery store in PA.   You can't even buy beer or wine there.  There are PA "Wine and Spirits" stores and beer distributors.  It made me wonder about the authenticity of the blog.

I suppose there may be a liquor store in a shopping center that is anchored with a Shop N Save, but I don't know anyone who would say they stopped at Shop N Save and bought JD or vodka.  It's the kind of mistake that someone from out of state might make because not a lot of people realize how backward PA is, in this regard.

[Texacon]

That was a disturbed individual.

KC

[The Night Owl]

He sound like a left wing nutjob.

Stop Socialism: Impeach Clinton! Or so says George Sodini...

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.current-events.clinton.whitewater/browse_thread/thread/2f38ce060220fc43/d1a7cb1035069699?hl=en&q=author:george.sodini

http://groups.google.com/group/misc.transport.urban-transit/browse_thread/thread/2b74dcf5d305d8a/603d3a0b5daa4d22?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%22george+sodini

[thundley4]

Stop Socialism: Impeach Clinton! Or so says George Sodini...

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.current-events.clinton.whitewater/browse_thread/thread/2f38ce060220fc43/d1a7cb1035069699?hl=en&q=author:george.sodini

http://groups.google.com/group/misc.transport.urban-transit/browse_thread/thread/2b74dcf5d305d8a/603d3a0b5daa4d22?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%22george+sodini

Yeah, see the quote I posted above. He doesn't like right wing fundies.  That qualifies him as a lefty loon.

[Airwolf]

On Fox news they said he has had a history of hating women going back as far as 1984! WTH is going on out there?

[The Night Owl]

Yeah, see the quote I posted above. He doesn't like right wing fundies.  That qualifies him as a lefty loon.

Lots of right wingers, including religious ones, dislike the fundie element. We don't see too many left wingers who hate socialism and Bill Clinton and who read right wing magazines and buy right wing merchandise from them.

[jtyangel]

All the talk of left wing and right wing is incredibly distasteful. Several women either died or were seriously injured because a nutjob, no matter his persuasion, walked in a healthclub where people seek to maintain or improve their health and fitness and opened fired on women just enjoying themselves in a dance class and out of those there were probably people who would classify themselves as liberals, conservatives, and moderates--so what.  The guy was a nutcase, it stands to reason he inhabited the extreme in other ways too. Which extreme that what is immaterial imo.

[Chris_]

All the talk of left wing and right wing is incredibly distasteful. Several women either died or were seriously injured because a nutjob, no matter his persuasion, walked in a healthclub where people seek to maintain or improve their health and fitness and opened fired on women just enjoying themselves in a dance class and out of those there were probably people who would classify themselves as liberals, conservatives, and moderates--so what.  The guy was a nutcase, it stands to reason he inhabited the extreme in other ways too. Which extreme that what is immaterial imo.

The left/right issue becomes important when we consider that the current administration is just waiting for an opportune moment to turn on gun owners, and bludgen us with another round of draconian gun-control laws.......and this doesn't help.

doc

[jtyangel]

The left/right issue becomes important when we consider that the current administration is just waiting for an opportune moment to turn on gun owners, and bludgen us with another round of draconian gun-control laws.......and this doesn't help.

doc

 

I don't know, dead people and honoring their memory seems a bit more important at the moment, but silly me.


You could just as easily argue that the lack of emergency exits on the 2nd floor  in the group fitness rooms(has been talked about some) and the ineptitude of the front desk with regards to checking in registered members had more bearing then the fact the nutjob stole away guns in his gym bag--everyone comes in with gym bags--who knows what's in them? In fact, those issues are far more relevant and should be brought up if the ding dongs in Washington even try to use this as some political board.It's very difficult to hold a moral ground on the issue though if you are right there sticking your political nose in it before the bodies are even cold imo.

[Chris_]

I don't know, dead people and honoring their memory seems a bit more important at the moment, but silly me.


You could just as easily argue that the lack of emergency exits on the 2nd floor  in the group fitness rooms(has been talked about some) and the ineptitude of the front desk with regards to checking in registered members had more bearing then the fact the nutjob stole away guns in his gym bag--everyone comes in with gym bags--who knows what's in them? In fact, those issues are far more relevant and should be brought up if the ding dongs in Washington even try to use this as some political board.It's very difficult to hold a moral ground on the issue though if you are right there sticking your political nose in it before the bodies are even cold imo.

I'm not sure I follow your point, that said, I have all of the sympathy in the world for the victims and their families, but I can also remember Colombine, and the rush to judgement following that event, and the reaction of our elected leaders........liberals love "grave dancing", if it moves their agenda forward.......never forget that......

These are dangerous times for us, and we must always stay ahead of our opponents......

doc

[Chris_]

I don't know, dead people and honoring their memory seems a bit more important at the moment, but silly me.


You could just as easily argue that the lack of emergency exits on the 2nd floor  in the group fitness rooms(has been talked about some) and the ineptitude of the front desk with regards to checking in registered members had more bearing then the fact the nutjob stole away guns in his gym bag--everyone comes in with gym bags--who knows what's in them? In fact, those issues are far more relevant and should be brought up if the ding dongs in Washington even try to use this as some political board.It's very difficult to hold a moral ground on the issue though if you are right there sticking your political nose in it before the bodies are even cold imo.

How can you honor the memory of someone you don't even know...personally I am worried about more gun control.

[The Night Owl]

All the talk of left wing and right wing is incredibly distasteful. Several women either died or were seriously injured because a nutjob, no matter his persuasion, walked in a healthclub where people seek to maintain or improve their health and fitness and opened fired on women just enjoying themselves in a dance class and out of those there were probably people who would classify themselves as liberals, conservatives, and moderates--so what.  The guy was a nutcase, it stands to reason he inhabited the extreme in other ways too. Which extreme that what is immaterial imo.

I think you're right here. I don't see any evidence that politics were the motivation behind Mr. Sodini's act of violence. I think he was just a deranged guy who finally came unglued.

[terry]

Rendell was just on TV making this about gun control.  I just saw the tale end but it was "...he got off 40 or 50 rounds in there, that's not necessary to protect your home"

[Chris_]

Rendell was just on TV making this about gun control.  I just saw the tale end but it was "...he got off 40 or 50 rounds in there, that's not necessary to protect your home"

Here we go...all they need is an incident like this one.

[Ptarmigan]

There have been string of mass shootings earlier this year in Alabama, New York, and Germany. This one is a misogynist, like Marc Lepine, George Hennard, and Campo Elias Delgado (went on a killing spree in Bogota, Colombia in December of 1986 and killed 30 people).

Marc Lepine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Lépine

George Hennard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hennard

Campo Elias Delgado
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campo_Elias_Delgado

[rich_t]

OK...

I am finally convinced.

People should not be allowed to own guns.  People don't kill people, people with guns do.

[Airwolf]

crazies don't care who you are they just want to kill. I say I deserve the right at defending myself no matter where I am its been the liberals in this country that have sought to keep anyone from that right. I will fight to the end my right and those of anyone that wants to own and carry a gun also those that don't want to have their rights but DO NOT Infringe on My rights

[rich_t]

crazies don't car who you are they just want to kill. I say I deserve the right at defending myself no matter wherew I am its been the liberals in this country that have sought to keep anyone from that right. I will fight to the end my right and those of anyone that wants to own and carry a gun also those that don't want to have their rights but DO NOT Infringe on My rights

Nonsense.

You merely need to dial 911.

[thundley4]

Nonsense.

You merely need to dial 911.

That's right. When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away.
When seconds count, the cops will have a second donut.
ETA:
The second one is the stereotypical joke, and I don't fault the police for not being where the crime, they can't be everywhere.

[Ptarmigan]

OK...

I am finally convinced.

People should not be allowed to own guns.  People don't kill people, people with guns do.

I hope your just joking.