Some quick thinking by a Florida man allowed others to flee after a man opened fire Friday night at a Tallahassee yoga studio, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
Joshua Quick hit Scott Paul Beierle with a vacuum cleaner that had a heavy end, and moments later, a broom as the two men wrestled when the gunman’s weapon jammed, the newspaper reported.
Quick was pistol-whipped and his face was bloodied, but his actions allowed others to escape the Hot Yoga studio in midtown Tallahassee. Two people were killed and six others were injured in the attack, the Democrat reported. Police said Beierle, 40, of Deltona, Florida, fatally shot himself but have offered no motive, WCTV reported.
Quick told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Sunday that he grabbed the only weapon he could find.
“The gun stopped firing,” Quick said. “I don’t know if it jammed or what. So I used that opportunity to hit him over the head with it (vacuum cleaner).”
After Beierle pistol-whipped Quick, the student recovered and tried to stop the gunman again.
“I jumped up as quickly as I could, ran back over and next thing you know, I’m grabbing a broom, anything I can,” Quick told “Good Morning America.” “And I hit him again.”
The other patrons who escaped were grateful for Quick's actions, WCTV reported.
“I want to thank that guy from the bottom of my heart because he saved my life,” Daniela Gardia Albalat told “Good Morning America.”
Nancy Van Vessem, an internist and chief medical officer for Capital Health Plan, and Maura Binkley, a Florida State University student, were killed in the shooting .
Three people wounded were released from a Tallahassee hospital on Saturday, the Democrat reported.
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