George Sodini

Status

George Sodini committed suicide by shooting himself the same day.

Timeline

• August 4, 2009 — A shooting rampage occurred at an LA Fitness health club in Collier Township; Sodini died by suicide the same day.
• August 4, 2009 — The county Medical Examiner's office identified the three women who died as Heidi Overmier, 46, of Collier; Elizabeth Gannon, 49, of Green Tree, Pennsylvania; and Jody Billingsley, 38, of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
• July 28, 2009 — Sodini brought an inert grenade on a Port Authority bus; after a passenger notified police, he was questioned about the incident but no charges were filed.
• July 2009 — Sodini wrote “No sex since July 1990 either (I was 29),” in an online diary post.
• February 2008 — Sodini uploaded a YouTube video of a tour of his house in Pennsylvania.
• 1999 — Sodini worked as a systems analyst at the law firm of K&L Gates in the accounting and finance department, according to a spokesman for the firm.
• 2004 — The assault weapons ban was lifted in 2004.
• 2006 — A pastor said Sodini attended his church but stopped in 2006 after a minor incident involving a woman who felt “he was paying too much attention to her.”
• January 6 — Sodini backed out of an attempt on Jan. 6; “I chickened out!” he wrote.
• Sunday — An entry dated Sunday on the website registered in Sodini's name described long-term problems: “The biggest problem of all is not having relationships or friends, but not being able to achieve and acquire what I desire in those or many other areas.”
• 11 a.m. — On the day of the shooting, Sodini visited the gym at about 11 a.m.
• 7:40 p.m. — On the day of the shooting, Sodini visited the gym again at about 7:40 p.m.
• 7:45 p.m. — Police said Sodini made a telephone call at 7:45 p.m.
• 7:56 p.m. — On the day of the shooting, Sodini visited the gym a third time at 7:56 p.m.
• 8:15 p.m. EDT — The shooting occurred at a women's aerobics class at the LA Fitness center in the Great Southern Shopping Center in Collier Township at approximately 8:15 p.m. EDT.
• 8:16 p.m. — The first 911 call was dispatched at 8:16 p.m.
• 8:45 p.m. — Sodini wrote: “I chickened out!” at 8:45PM.
• about 8 p.m. Tuesday — Another account placed the shooting at around 8 p.m. Tuesday.
• about seven feet — Sodini was found dead in the aerobics room lying on top of one of his guns about seven feet from one of the victims.

Background

George Sodini (September 30, 1960 – August 4, 2009) was a 48-year-old resident of Scott Township. He worked as a systems analyst in the finance department of K&L Gates, a law firm with an office in Pittsburgh, since 1999.

Authorities said Sodini was a member of the gym. A website registered in his name chronicled his rejections by women and his severe sexual frustration. He wrote that he was never married and concluded “Death Lives!”

Sodini described himself as quiet and studious in accounts from individuals connected to a self-help seminar he attended on dating women. A seminar was run by author and self-described dating expert R. Don Steele. The seminars were three-day, eight-hour sessions designed so that men could “pick our brains” about what women like.

A woman named Erin Micklow, 20, who was hired last year to work at a self-help seminar Sodini attended, described him as “the most studious in the workshops.” Micklow said that the three-day, eight-hour seminars were designed so men could “pick our brains” about what women like and said many attendees came from across the country because they were nervous about meeting women. She said by the end of the workshops “a lot of the guys had loosened up,” but “George was pretty much just as nervous.”

Sodini posted videos online, including a tour of his home that he was said to have made as “a homework assignment” from the dating seminar. Micklow said he had no further contact with her beyond the seminar.

Sodini’s online diaries included statements about sexual frustration and contemplated violence. Police characterized the gunman’s comments as expressing a lot of hatred and rage directed at women.

The offence

The shooting occurred at an LA Fitness health club in Collier Township in a women’s aerobics class. The fitness center was located in the Great Southern Shopping Center, a strip mall near Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Pittsburgh.

At approximately 8:15 p.m. EDT, the shooter entered the class, placed a duffel bag on the ground, turned off the lights, took out at least two handguns, and began firing. Police said the gunman may have fired 52 shots before committing suicide. Another account said he fired at least 36 times.

Police said the attacker used multiple weapons “indiscriminately” and gave no warning before he began firing.

Weapons reported used or found

• Police said the handguns used by the perpetrator reportedly were “two 9mm semiautomatics and a .45-caliber revolver.”
• Another account said Sodini brought four handguns into the gym and used three of them.
• A .38 was reported in his pocket.
• Police said Sodini had 30-round ammunition clips that were illegal before the assault weapons ban was lifted in 2004.
• County officials and police described how witnesses and investigators located the firearms, including that three of the four guns found with Sodini were traced back to him and that authorities were tracing the fourth.

Victims and injuries

The attack resulted in four deaths, including the perpetrator. Three women were killed and about nine other people were injured.

The county Medical Examiner's office identified the three women who died as:

• Heidi Overmier, 46, of Collier
• Elizabeth Gannon, 49, of Green Tree, Pennsylvania
• Jody Billingsley, 38, of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Mary Primis, 26, an aerobics instructor who was 10 weeks pregnant, was shot twice. Her husband, Alex Primis, said she was shot once in the left shoulder and again through the back of her shoulder blade.

By early Wednesday, the remaining nine victims were in three separate hospitals. Police said two women remained critical, two others were in surgery, three others were hospitalized, and another two had been treated and released.

Investigation

Police superintendent Charles Moffatt said police found a schedule at Sodini’s home with the women’s aerobics class circled. Authorities believed Sodini targeted the aerobics class, but did not believe he targeted anyone personally. Police said online diaries and notes at the scene and at his home led them to believe he was targeting women in general.

In a note found along inside the gym bag, police said Sodini stated hatred for women. In another account, the suicide note found in Sodini’s gym bag contained rants consistent with his statements to rejectors and rage toward women. Police said Sodini did not mention killing himself in the note found at the scene, which was mostly typed with handwritten notations, but did mention it in a handwritten note found at his home.

Authorities seized Sodini’s car for processing but no guns were found in it. Police seized Sodini’s computer and examined it.

Police spoke to a pastor mentioned on Sodini’s online diary. The man said Sodini attended his church but stopped in 2006, and that there was a minor incident involving a woman who felt “he was paying too much attention to her.” The pastor said he spoke to Sodini and it stopped.

Police said they had no knowledge of any mental health issues involving Sodini but were puzzled at the violence, saying, “I can't ever make sense of murders.”

Authorities were attempting to locate the person Sodini contacted by telephone. Police said Sodini made a telephone call at 7:45 p.m. and believed he may have left the gym to make it.

Earlier incident involving an inert grenade

Nearly a week after the murders, it was revealed that Sodini had brought an inert grenade on a Port Authority bus on July 28, 2009. After a passenger sitting next to him notified police, he was questioned about the incident but no charges were filed.

Arrest

No arrest occurred because the perpetrator died by suicide.

Trial

No trial occurred.

Sentencing

No sentencing occurred.

Outcome

Sodini died by suicide the same day of the shooting.

Police found four guns and a note inside the shooter's duffle bag, according to the police superintendent. He did not say whether the gunman was the author of the note.

Sodini was found dead in the aerobics room lying on top of one of his guns about seven feet from one of the victims.

Aftermath

Counselors were made available to area residents in the wake of the shooting.

The fitness centre released a statement about the shootings: “Each of us in the LA Fitness family are shocked and saddened by the senseless acts that took place.”

Sodini’s family issued a short statement: “Our hearts and prayers are with the victims and their families and we pray for the full recovery of the survivors.”

Estate and university

Authorities said it was later revealed that Sodini left $225,000 for the University of Pittsburgh in his estate. The university said it had “no interest” in receiving Sodini’s estate. A court decision was described as ultimately determining how estates were handled, including whether the estate might be given to Sodini’s victims.

Other details

Quotes and writings attributed to Sodini

Sodini wrote on his website:

• “Who knows why? I am not ugly or too weird. No sex since July 1990 either (I was 29),”
• “Last time I slept all night with a girlfriend it was 1982. Girls and women don't even give me a second look ANYWHERE.”
• “Women just don't like me. There are 30 million desirable women in the US (my estimate) and I cannot find one.”
• “Probably 99% of the people who know me well don't even think I was this crazy.”
• “Death Lives!”

Sodini also wrote:

• “