FSU Shooting Occurred Same Day as Event Scheduled for 2018 Hot Yoga Shooting Victims

In the span of seven years, Jeff Binkley has been touched by violence in unimaginable ways.

On April 17, 2025, he was preparing to speak at Florida State University when sirens interrupted his preparation. Jeff was at FSU for a "United Against Hate" Maura’s Voice Symposium event, which was scheduled for 5 p.m. that day, per the Tallahassee Democrat. "I knew it was likely a mass shooting," he told the outlet.

His suspicions were correct, as earlier that day, a shooter opened fire on campus, killing two and injuring six others.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time Jeff had experienced a tragedy like this in Tallahassee, Fla.

In November 2018, his daughter Maura Binkley was fatally shot at a hot yoga studio. She was an FSU student at the time. What happened to her? Here's what we know.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, in 2018, Maura was thinking about life after graduation and was leaning towards getting a job with Teach for America. The day she was killed, the 21-year-old FSU student was prepping for an interview and had called her mother for advice.

Jeff told the outlet that his daughter "just wanted to help other people." Binkly also hated gun violence.

Maura was studying German as well as editing, writing, and media, and was scheduled to graduate the following May. She would often go to hot yoga classes in order to relax, which is where she was at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2018.

That's when 40-year-old Scott Paul Beierle, posing as a customer, walked into the studio and began shooting. Two people, one of whom was Maura, were fatally wounded. Four were injured while Beierle pistol-whipped a fifth, per NPR.

Dr. Nancy Van Vessem, age 61, was a faculty member of FSU's medical school. She was also an internist who worked at Tallahassee's Capital Health Plan as the chief medical director. Vessem was the second person killed that evening. "Her dedication, caring, leadership, humanity, and experience made her one of the most respected, inspiring, and accomplished medical professionals in the state and country," said Capital Health Plan in a statement to The Democrat.

Joshua Quick was the only male student at the hot yoga class the night Beierle walked in and began shooting. The second-year FSU law student performed an incredible act of bravery that day. After Beierle had unloaded 13 rounds, his gun started making a clicking noise, reported The Washington Post. "I didn’t know if it was jammed or what," Joshua told the outlet.

Regardless of what was happening with Beierle's gun, that's when Joshua made a move. He recalled thinking, "I’m just going to hit him. He’ll cock that thing back and shoot me. But I’m going to hit him."

That's precisely what Joshua did when he picked up the only weapon available: an upright vacuum cleaner. The slight man swung it at Beierle, connecting with his head, but that did nothing. That's when Beierle hit him with the gun several times. Still, Joshua tried again with a broomstick.

This gave the students who were able to run the time needed to escape the yoga studio. Joshua grabbed his girlfriend and bolted. The women who stayed behind were too wounded to move, and later said they heard Beierle mutter "something intelligible" before taking his own life with one final shot.