A Philadelphia-area YMCA was closed on Tuesday after a shooting Monday night in the Y's parking lot left two dead in what is being described as a murder-suicide.
The incident occurred before 6 p.m. Monday, according to multiple media reports. Philadelphia TV station NBC 10 reported a woman who was heading to work as a fitness instructor at the Brandywine YMCA in Coatesville, PA, was shot as she was getting out of her car. Her alleged assailant, a man described as the woman's estranged boyfriend, later shot himself with a semi-automatic handgun as an officer approached him, according to investigators.
Both Jacinda Miller, 41, and Dennis Cassel, 42, were pronounced dead at a local hospital. Miller leaves behind two children.
"This crime is another tragedy of domestic violence," Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan told the TV station. "Two children have been left without a mother. There is no excuse and no good explanation for this sort of violence."
The Brandywine Y had about 120 employees, parents and children inside at the time of the shootings and went into lockdown mode for about 90 minutes, according to a report by DailyLocal.com. All were later released in groups of 10.
Although the Y was closed Tuesday, its day care remained open, DailyLocal.com reported.
"Our prayers are with the families," Hogan said. "We thank the YMCA staff and our first responders for making sure that the scene was secured immediately and none of the children at the YMCA were harmed."
A request for comment to the YMCA of the Brandywine Valley by Club Industry was not immediately returned.