Four Dead In Health Club Shooting

(CNN) -- A gunman walked into an LA Fitness gym outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, turned off the lights and fired off 50 rounds, killing three women before killing himself Tuesday evening, police said. The man didn't speak but was carrying a gym bag with a note inside it. He was found dead in the gym lying on top a gun about 7 feet away from a victim, said Charles Moffatt, Allegheny County police superintendent.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/05/pennsylvania.gym.shooting/index.html

The gunman was 48-year-old George Sodini. He apparently was lonely and felt rejected by women and developed an intense hatred of them. He kept an online diary that detailed his feelings and his plans for the killings. You can read that here.

Good Grief! "Lonely" so he takes it out on innocent people.

Wow.... this guy had some real problems. It's so sad for his victims that he didn't do something to help himself besides lifting weights and drinking to get the courage to end it all... what a chicken $hit.

Oh this is so horrible and the aerobic instructor was pregnant!

I guess I will never understand these things. Can you imagine if EVERYONE who ever felt lonely and rejected by the opposite sex went out and shot up the place? I mean, really. This is just so, well, so insane!

mimi4all wrote:I guess I will never understand these things. Can you imagine if EVERYONE who ever felt lonely and rejected by the opposite sex went out and shot up the place? I mean, really. This is just so, well, so insane!

If everyone who felt lonely and rejected by the opposite sex went out and shot up the place, the entire human race would have been wiped out by now. There are a lot of sick people in this world.

Justice4all wrote:

mimi4all wrote:I guess I will never understand these things. Can you imagine if EVERYONE who ever felt lonely and rejected by the opposite sex went out and shot up the place? I mean, really. This is just so, well, so insane!

If everyone who felt lonely and rejected by the opposite sex went out and shot up the place, the entire human race would have been wiped out by now. There are a lot of sick people in this world.

I agree with you, J4A! That is so very true! Sad, but, very true nevertheless.

Watching his videos are so chilling. And his ramblings, he was beyond crazy.

Piper wrote:Watching his videos are so chilling. And his ramblings, he was beyond crazy.

Hi, Piper! Can you imagine? He wondered WHY women avoided him!

Cops Questioned LA Fitness Shooter About Earlier Bus 'Grenade' Incident
Port Authority Police Didn't Have Enough To Charge George Sodini

PITTSBURGH -- George Sodini was questioned by Port Authority police the week before he carried out his shooting massacre in a women's aerobics class at LA Fitness in Collier Township.

The 48-year-old Scott Township man was ultimately let go because police couldn't confirm he was the same man who had pulled what appeared to be a grenade out of a computer bag on a 33X bus on July 28.


Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said that Sodini matched the description given by another passenger, but Sodini denied the allegations when police found him and questioned him two days later, and the bus passenger who reported seeing him was not able to positively identify Sodini from a photograph.

"The officers who are involved in this obviously are a little bit shook up and distraught," Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said on Monday. "I think they wish they could have done more at the time. There really isn't much more they could have done, with the individual not being able to identify Mr. Sodini."

Allegheny County police said Sodini shot himself to death after killing three women and wounding nine others at the health club in the Great Southern Shopping Center on Aug. 4.

While they were investigating the shootings, county police went to Sodini's home and found a reference to the bus incident in one of his diaries that said, "don't worry about it, it was a false grenade."

"We've never found a grenade, so nobody can tell you right now it was him on that bus. We believe it was him on the bus," Allegheny County police Superintendent Charles Moffatt said.


Two of the wounded LA Fitness survivors remained hospitalized Monday in fair and serious conditions.

One of the women who died -- Jody Billingsley, 37, of Mt. Lebanon -- will be buried Wednesday in Franklin, Venango County. Funerals for the other two -- Heidi Overmier, 46, of Carnegie, and Elizabeth "Betsy" Gannon, 49, of Green Tree -- were held Saturday.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/20348016/detail.html

Shirts Sold To Benefit Son Of LA Fitness Shooting Victim
Heidi Overmier Remembered As Active Member Of Church
PITTSBURGH -- The First United Methodist Church of Bridgeville is selling T-shirts to raise money for the teenage son of LA Fitness shooting victim Heidi Overmier.

Overmier, 46, was one of three women shot and killed at the LA Fitness in the Great Southern Shopping Center last Tuesday.

Friends describe the single mother as an active member of the church with a passion for youth ministry.
"She was quite active within our Christmas pageants for the children, for the youth. [She] produced, wrote, did the costumes," said church member John McCans.

Shirts can be ordered by mail by contacting the church.

A West Mifflin native, Overmier attended Penn State University and worked had worked at Kennywood since 1998.

Allegheny County police said George Sodini, 48, of Scott Township, walked into the LA Fitness in Collier Township with three handguns hidden in his gym bag around 8 p.m. He went to an aerobics room where at least 20 people were working out, then shut off the lights and began firing.

Overmier, Jody Billingsley, 37, and Elizabeth Gannon, 49, were killed, while nine others were wounded when Sodini opened fire in the Latin dance class.

Police said Sodini took his own life after shooting the women.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/20361973/detail.html

Dating Seminar Employee Tells Of Working With George Sodini
George Sodini Appeared Uncomfortable At Dating Seminar, Woman Says

PITTSBURGH -- An employee hired to work at a dating seminar recalled how she met George Sodini, the man who police said killed himself after fatally shooting three women and injuring nine others at the LA Fitness gym in Collier Township last Tuesday evening.
Erin Micklow was 19 when she was hired to work at a dating seminar in Whittier, Calif., that George Sodini attended.

She told "Inside Edition" how uncomfortable Sodini appeared, but despite his unease, the shootings were the last thing she expected.

"George was the last person I would expect to do this, which is the most frightening because, basically, you always have to have your guard up around people because people always surprise you," Micklow said.

"He was really uncomfortable socializing, and it was hard for him to have a fluent natural conversation," she added.

Micklow, who was at the seminar to give the men feedback, said Sodini's shy manner didn't give off any warning signs.

"He was like the George Clooney type. He was a good looking man. He was really muscular. He looked like a tough guy, but not in a scary way," she said.

The seminar was led by R. Don Steele, a copy of whose book -- "How to Date Young Women" -- was kept on Sodini's coffee table.

The Story Continues: A healing service took place Tuesday night to offer prayers and messages of encouragement to help people heal. Click Here To Read The Story.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/20364887/detail.html

LA Fitness Mourning Continues With Jody Billingsley's Funeral
Weekend Services Held For Shooting Victims Elizabeth Gannon, Heidi Overmier


Elizabeth Gannon, Heidi Overmier and Jody Billingsley were killed in a shooting at their gym.

FRANKLIN, Pa. -- Jody Billingsley, of Mt. Lebanon, was laid to rest Wednesday in her quiet northwestern Pennsylvania hometown, nearly 90 miles away from the LA Fitness where a gunman killed her and two other women last week.

The funeral at the First United Methodist Church in Franklin, Venango County -- where the 37-year-old Billingsley grew up and went to school -- was the third and final service for those who died in the shooting rampage in Collier Township, Allegheny County.

"It's just such a tragedy. Jody was such a good person, beautiful smile," said Darlene Whitman, a friend from church.

Billingsley was a sales representative for Medtronic Inc. who played basketball at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown while studying biology. She later earned a degree in physical therapy from Chatham University.

"Jody was a person that, if you didn't talk to her all the time, you felt like you picked up where you left off," college roommate Toddy Reese said. "She made us all better people because of the way she was."

Funerals were held over the weekend for the other two women who died -- 49-year-old Elizabeth "Betsy" Gannon, of Green Tree, and 46-year-old Heidi Overmier, of Carnegie.
Video: Watch The Funeral Reports By Bob Mayo and Tara Edwards

Allegheny County police said George Sodini, 48, of Scott Township, sprayed an aerobics dance classroom at the health club in the Great Southern Shopping Center with two handguns before taking his own life with a third gun in a long-planned mission.

Gannon Remembered As Upbeat, Very Friendly

Gannon was divorced and didn't have children. She worked as an X-ray technician at a Pittsburgh hospital but was remembered more for spending her spare time as a surrogate Aunt Bea to her nieces and nephews, for her daily walks with her Labrador retriever and for the pride she took in her Irish heritage.

More than 100 people mourned Gannon at her funeral Mass, saying prayers and sharing stories at St. Margaret of Scotland in Green Tree.

"It was moving, it was touching and uplifting in a beautiful way. It was such a tragic death. The church was just full," said Betty Kilmeyer, who sang in the choir. "You can feel the pain but you can rise above it. I know that the ending will be glorious, that's what keeps you going."

Gannon's goddaughter sang a song in tribute, and other loved ones described how wonderful she was to them, saying that's what they will miss the most.

"She was a very upbeat person, very friendly," Kilmeyer said. "(She) walked her dog in the area (and) many people knew her just from walking her dog where she lived."

Former Allegheny County Chief Executive Jim Roddey called the killings a "senseless" act and remembered Gannon's contributions to the community.

"She was really a wonderful person in this community. I never saw her when she wasn't smiling," said Roddey, who also knew Gannon through her volunteer work for the Allegheny County Republican Committee.

"Betsy was a beautiful, warm ray of sunshine to everyone she ever met," said Linda O'Brian, a childhood classmate and lifelong friend.

Overmier's Legacy As Devoted Mom Shared

Overmier's was remembered as a hard-working, devoted single mother by well over 200 people who crowded the First United Methodist Church of Bridgeville for her funeral Mass.

"Heidi, she was a blessing. She was soft-spoken, she was creative, she was humorous, she was a joy to be around. She epitomized the spirit of Christian love."
- The Rev. Ed Saxman,
Overmier's former pastor

Overmier was "a devout Christian woman who left loving imprints on our hearts," whose life was "suddenly ended in a senseless act of violence, and each one of us have felt the pain and sadness of her departure," said the Rev. Josephine Whitely-Fields.

"Heidi, she was a blessing. She was soft-spoken, she was creative, she was humorous, she was a joy to be around. She epitomized the spirit of Christian love," said the Rev. Ed Saxman.

Overmier was a single mother who doted on her 15-year-old son, Ian, and was perhaps best known at her church for annually writing and directing a Christmas play for children, complete with costumes she made.

"(She was) always positive, a go-getter (with a) can-do attitude. Just an amazing woman and completely dedicated to her son," said Marianne Haffey, a friend. "I still can't believe we've lost two absolutely beautiful human beings -- beautiful both on the outside and on the inside."


Heidi Overmier was a single mother who doted on her 15-year-old son, Ian, and was perhaps best known at her church for annually writing and directing a Christmas play for children, complete with costumes she made.

Larry Russ, chief of security at Kennywood Park, where Overmier worked in group sales, said Overmier "had that innate ability to make everybody love her."

"Right now, I'm at a loss for words," Russ said. "There's a lot people want to say, but nothing is going to come out the way it should."

"She was tremendous," said Overmier's neighbor, Anna Marie Mauti. "If she knew I wasn't well, she'd come and ask if I needed anything. She'd send her son over."

Friends said Overmier was planning to soon join in her church's faith outreach, an effort her former pastor said would touch lives, like those of her killer.

"We have been called to seek out, really, the George Sodinis of this world, the lost people who don't have that relationship, don't have that relationship, don't realize where God is in their life and help them to understand it," Saxman said.

"The people that you care about, to tell them that you do care -- even if it's just a good friend, a co-worker. Please, just tell them that that you do care because you don't know when you might not be able to do that," Haffey said.

All week, Pittsburghers have come together to mourn the three women who were killed, leaving flowers, notes and stuffed animals outside the doors of the now-closed gym in the Great Southern Shopping Center.

George Sodini's Family Praying For Victims, Families, Survivors

Sodini's family offered the following statement through attorney Rebecca Bower: "The family is devastated by these incidents. We pray for the victims and their families and we pray for the full recovery of the survivors."

Sodini's family did not return telephone calls seeking comment.


Car Wash Helps LA Fitness Shooting Survivor Heal
Generosity, Support Help Heal Heather Sherba's Wounds, Heart
ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Friends threw a fundraiser Sunday to help one of the nine survivors of the LA Fitness shootings, which ocurred almost two weeks ago.

A bullet ricocheted off one of Heather Sherba's teeth and another bullet went through one leg and grazed the other. On Sunday, childhood friends washed cars at the Pep Boys store in Robinson Township to help her heal.

The fundraiser was held to help Sherba tend to her injuries, but it is also helping to heal her heart.

"I just think it's amazing, totally overwhelming," Sherba said. "I'm overjoyed. I just can't believe that friends, family and people I don't even know have come out and supported me."

On Aug. 4, George Sodini shot and killed three women and injured nine others before turning the gun on himself.

Sherba, a recent nursing school graduate, ran for her life. She found her boyfriend in the gym and had him make a tourniquet out of his T-shirt to stop the bleeding in her leg.

That day, and on Sunday, she was touched by the help of loved ones and strangers.

"Pittsburgh just always comes together and helps out their community. So, we're really grateful to have everybody show up," said Jessica Bealdmore, a friend of Sherba.

"All of us from high school got together and threw together a fundraiser because we knew it would help her out, and she needs every bit of it," said Jennifer Vu, a friend of Sherba.

Friends and volunteers scrubbed cars, simply taking donations all to help Sherba pay for her medical costs. Those getting car washes said it was an easy thing to do to send an important message.

"It was a tragedy, a real tragedy," said Dave Weyland, a customer who took part "to show some solidarity."

Sherba continues to recover from her gunshot wounds.