Former Mpls. fitness trainer killed in shooting at Florida gym

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Mario Hortis, a former fitness trainer at The Firm in Minneapolis, was shot and killed at a gym in Miami last Saturday. Photo courtesy of The Firm MPLS Facebook page.

MIAMI (KMSP) - A Minnesota man was one of two managers who were shot and killed by a former employee at a gym in Miami over the weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, 33-year-old Abeku Wilson walked into the Equinox Gym at the Shops at Merrick Park and killed two people before turning the gun on himself, according to Fox-affiliate WSVN-7. One of the people killed was the gym’s fitness manager, identified as Mario Hortis of St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Hortis grew up in St. Cloud and worked at The Firm in Minneapolis before moving to Florida in 2005.

“Mario had a presence you felt as soon as you met him,” The Firm wrote in a Facebook post. “We will miss Mario’s warm heart and engaging smile. Our hearts are broken.”

According to the Miami-Dade Police Department, the shooter was let go from his job at the gym earlier that day due to workplace violence, according to a statement from the Miami-Dade Police Department. He had to be escorted off the premises.

Wilson returned to the gym a short time later armed with a handgun and fired several shots at both managers. Both victims were taken to the hospital, where they both died of their injuries.