Village of Merrick Park Mall- At around 1 p.m. this afternoon local time, a shooting left two dead, and one wounded after a former employee opened fire on managers at the Equinox Gym in Coral Gables, Florida. One of the deceased was the shooter.
UPDATE: Woman dies after gunman opens fire at Merrick Park in Coral Gables https://t.co/HOHq87XKYT
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) April 8, 2017
Police responded to the shots fired call and placed restaurants like the Yard House and shops such as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom on lockdown. The Merrick Park Mall will be closed until tomorrow.
NBC reported,
Former Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff identified the shooter as Abeku Wilson and the two victims as Janine Ackerman and Mario Hortis. Ackerman was a manager at the gym and Hortis was a trainer.
Sarnoff said he was shocked and described Wilson as a “very nice guy.” He said Wilson was a trainer and the gym and had trained him and his wife.
Wilson, 33, had been a trainer at the gym, and Ackerman, 35, was the general manager. Wilson was fired earlier in the day, according to reports ,and an argument broke out. Hortis, 42, was a fitness manager at the gym. Wilson killed himself after the altercation.
The Miami Herald reported,
One person who declined to be identified said Ackerman did not appear to be moving after being shot. Hortis was conscious but bleeding heavily, the witness said.
The condition of Mario Hortis is not known at this time.
At least one dead after shooting at upscale shopping mall in Coral Gables, FL https://t.co/Xzs0LKlybA pic.twitter.com/OtEKalKlCX
— ABC News (@ABC) April 8, 2017
Miami-Dade and Coral Gables police will give an update on the #MerrickPark shooting in #CoralGables shortly. pic.twitter.com/VVfKGJppKn
— Lance Dixon (@LDixon_3) April 8, 2017
One person has been killed, two wounded after a shooting at a gym in Merrick Park mall, in Coral Gables, Florida pic.twitter.com/l3uI7ZdgHR
— Global’s Newsroom (@GlobalsNewsroom) April 8, 2017
Flood of cop cars outside #MerrickPark after shooting inside #Equinox that resulted in at least one death. pic.twitter.com/5Dw3bbfi3t
— Amanda Plasencia (@AmandaNBC6) April 8, 2017