3 Months Before Yoga Shooting, a 'Non-Actionable' Tip

Final reports describe Scott Beierle's hatred of women
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 13, 2019 12:12 PM CST
3 Months Before Yoga Shooting, a 'Non-Actionable' Tip
Scott Paul Beierle   (Leon County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

Investigators have been unable to determine why the gunman who murdered two women at a Tallahassee yoga studio in November chose that locale, but they say his hatred of women was no secret. Scott Beierle, 40, wrote about that hatred as well as rape, torture, and murder, in his journals, and had a history of misconduct toward females dating back to grade school, Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo said Tuesday as the department released its final reports, per the Tallahassee Democrat. Beierle's online remarks were also troubling; the wife of a childhood friend notified the FBI about "violent lyrics about murder and stalking" on the amateur musician's website in August. DeLeo called the tip "non-actionable." And yet, investigators working in the aftermath found Beierle had planned the Nov. 2 shooting for months. He called the studio and searched for a map of its building in August, per CNN.

His 9mm handgun was bought in July, a month after Beierle was fired from a teaching job for inappropriately touching a female student. He was fired from another teaching job in 2015 for watching porn, and arrested twice in 2012 for groping women at Florida State University, per the Orlando Sentinel. "Although there was no specific target at the yoga studio …. [his] lifetime of misogynistic attitudes caused him to attack a familiar community," DeLeo said. Beierle arrived early for the 5:30pm class. Inside the room, he put on earmuffs and pulled out a handgun, fatally shooting FSU student Maura Binkley, 21, and faculty member Dr. Nancy Van Vessem, 61, in the back. Beierle wounded five others, and ultimately shot himself after a confrontation with patron Joshua Quick. Noting he carried more than 100 rounds of ammunition, DeLeo concluded "this could have been even worse than it was." (More yoga shooting stories.)

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