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The Addictions Coach: Is there More to the Shooting at the Equinox Gym?

Equinox

The Addictions Coach: Is there More to the Shooting at the Equinox Gym? 

Personal trainer and model Abeku Wilson, was described as a big teddy bear, very friendly and professional.  On Instagram, he talked about spending his free-time mentoring underprivileged inner city kids as a way to give back to the community.  So what was going on that he was fired for workplace violence?   And why did he return to the gym later in the day and shoot two managers before taking his own life?

One clue may come from Miami city commissioner, Marc Sarnoff, who trained with Abeku that morning.

Sarnoff told the Herald that he saw Wilson the morning of the shooting and “He said: ‘Sorry. I’m just off-balance this morning. Which was strange. The way he said it, he almost slurred his words. He wasn’t clean shaven, which was unusual.”

As this story continues, will we learn that Wilson was under the influence of some substance?  Was he suffering with an addiction that no one knew?

What we do know is that three lives were lost tragically, and for no reason.

If you or someone you love is dealing with substance abuse or unexplained, abrupt, behavior changes, call 1.800.706.0318 or visit The Addictions Coach 

Equinox Fitness Club reopens after murder-suicide in Coral Gables

2 managers killed by fired employee, police say

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The South Florida gym where two people were killed over the weekend before the suspected gunman turned the gun on himself reopened Monday.

Equinox members told Local 10 News that they are like one big family, so what happened Saturday is still weighing heavily on their hearts.

They said returning to the gym Monday to work out was not easy.

“The only way to end this is to stop random violence with guns,” Lisa Rosen, who knew the victims, said. “People are dead. Three. Two were very young and very beautiful, and one was clearly troubled. But the answer is to get rid of guns.”

Members of the Equinox Fitness Club in Merrick Park are still shaken about the shooting that killed two managers at the hands, police said, of a popular trainer who was fired just hours before.

“I knew the other two gentlemen just from being at the gym, but Janine I did know, and she’s a tender, sweet, kind, caring person who at 35 years old should not be dead,” Rosen said.

Police said general manager Janine Ackerman and fitness manager Marios Hortis, 42, were shot Saturday afternoon inside the Coral Gables gym.

“She was a radiant human being, and this is just … there are no words,” Mabel De Buenza, who previously worked with Ackerman, said.

Ackerman worked at the Equinox Fitness Club in Coral Gables for about two years. She was promoted to the general manager position just this past summer. Friends said she embraced the role.

“She was the textbook manager,” De Buenza said. “Everything that could have possibly went wrong in that situation … I cannot fathom that there was anything that she could have possibly provoked.”

Police said Abeku Wilson, 33, was fired earlier that day and came back with a gun, killing the two managers before shooting himself.

“I would have never expected something like this. He was one of my friends,” Hamad Shirazi said. “He was a big teddy bear. He was so pleasant to be around.”

 

Sources:

http://www.local10.com/news/crime/equinox-fitness-club-reopens-after-murder-suicide-in-coral-gables

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