One person dead after shooting near mall in South Florida

A gunman opened fire inside the Equinox fitness center at the Shops at Merrick Park in Coral Gables around 1 p.m. Saturday, leaving one dead and two people wounded, police said.

The person killed is believed to be the shooter, who committed suicide after opening fire, police said. The wounded included the general manager, who is listed on the fitness center’s website as Jeanine Ackerman and a trainer.

Shed Boren, a member of Equinox, said his trainer told him the incident involved a disgruntled trainer: “I had just left Equinox,’’ he said. “I heard from my trainer that it was a trainer that had been let go. The general manager and one of the trainers were shot.’’

Another man who was at the gym when the gunfire rang out said he knew the shooter. “Nice guy, quiet. He’s not a crazy guy. This wasn’t someone who decided to kill a bunch of people,” he said. “There was a dance class of 40 people if he wanted to do that. This was personal.”

He said the shooter appeared fine moments before it all began, “although he was agitated earlier in the day after meeting with management.”

One of the wounded, a trainer named Mario, was conscious but bleeding heavily, he said. The manager wasn’t moving, said the witness.

Coral Gables police flooded the mall, which is located at 358 San Lorenzo Ave. in Coral Gables, between Bird Road and U.S. 1, off Ponce de Leon Bouvlevard, and began putting nearby restaurants and shops, which include Nordstrom, Neiman-Marcus, Crate & Barrel and Jimmy Choo shoes, on lockdown.

Kelly Denham, spokeswoman for Coral Gables police, said the scene was secured by 1:45 p.m..

The upscale mall descended into chaos. People fled from the fitness center, running into nearby shops and restaurants.

“A woman ran in who had been at Equinox and said she had heard three to four shots and that there was man in a pool of blood,’’ said Lily Kubli, a designer at Artefacto, a Brazilian furniture store in the mall. She said an alarm had been ringing for 15 minutes and police had told the employees and customers that they could not leave the store.

“There were definitely people who were injured; we saw them being carried away,” said Tim Hartog, the general manager at the nearby Yard House sports bar. “The entire mall is locked down and the road in front is closed too.”

About 100 people were lunching on Yard House’s outdoor patio when the shooting began. “People rushed inside. People were hiding under tables,” he said. “It was just crazy.”

Before police came by and ordered the restaurant to be locked down, he said many people rushed out the back door, leaving cellphones and other personal possessions behind in the chaos.

Miami-Dade police are investigating the shooting. LeJeune Road, south of Bird Road, is closed.

A call to Equinox was forwarded to the Brickell location of the fitness where a woman said: “I’m not sorry we’re not taking any calls from the media.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 2:44 PM with the headline "One person dead after shooting near mall in South Florida."