AUTHORITIES have identified the shooter at a yoga studio in Tallahassee, and the two people he killed, as disturbing facts about his past have been revealed.

The Tallahassee Police Department has identified the shooter as Scott Paul Beierle, 40, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

Beierle, who had moved to the central Florida town of Deltona after getting a graduate degree from Florida State University (FSU), killed himself at the scene on Friday.

The two slain were a student and faculty member at FSU, according to the university. The department identified them as Dr Nancy Van Vessem, 61, and Maura Binkley, 21.

Van Vessem was an internist who also served as chief medical director for Capital Health Plan, the area’s leading health maintenance organisation.

Binkley was a student from Atlanta who was due to graduate in May.

Police said two other victims were in stable condition, and three had been released from the hospital.

It has since emerged that Beierle had once been banned from an FSU campus and had been arrested twice for grabbing women even though the charges were ultimately dropped.

Court records show that Beierle was charged by police with battery in 2016 after he slapped and grabbed a woman’s buttocks at an apartment complex pool.

Records show that the charges were eventually dismissed after Beierle followed the conditions of a deferred prosecution agreement.

Beierle was also charged with battery in 2012 for grabbing women’s buttocks in a FSU campus dining hall.

A university police report shows that Beierle told police he may have accidentally bumped into someone, but denied grabbing anyone.

Beierle also appeared to post a series of videos on YouTube in 2014 where he called women “whores” if they dated black men, said many black women were “disgusting” and described himself as a misogynist.

He said promiscuous women deserved to be crucified and he suggested putting up landmines to keep people from crossing into the US from Mexico.

The existence of the videos was first reported by BuzzFeed.

Beierle was originally from New York, had served in the military and once was a teacher in Maryland. After his military service, he wound up attending FSU.

Kristi Malone, who had a graduate class with Beierle, said in a Facebook message that she did not interact with him outside of the classroom because of “his odd leering, inappropriate comments and general demeanour.”

“I know that myself and several of my female colleagues made a point to never be alone with him even at school because of his odd behaviour,” Malone said.

Mike Orgo, who was friends with Beierle on Facebook, said he met him back in 2011 at comedy night open microphone sessions held at a Tallahassee restaurant. said that he did not know him well but said he “definitely seemed angry and on edge.”

FSU president John Thrasher said both Dr Van Vessem and Ms Binkley had ties to the university.

“To lose one of our students and one of our faculty members in this tragic and violent way is just devastating to the Florida State University family. We feel this loss profoundly and we send our deepest sympathies to Maura’s and Nancy’s loved ones while we pray for the recovery of those who were injured,” Mr Thrasher said in a statement.

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who is the Democratic nominee for governor, broke off the campaign trail to return to Tallahassee after the tragedy.

Mr Gillum spoke to reporters near the scene of the shooting and said that he had visited two other survivors in the hospital.

He said they were in good spirits despite their injuries.

“We all feel a sense of added vulnerability” because of the shooting, the mayor said.

Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo told reporters on Friday night that Beierle shot six people and pistol-whipped one other person before fatally shooting himself.

Mr DeLeo said authorities are investigating possible motives. He declined to say what kind of gun Beierle had.

A city spokesman said the rampage appeared to be part of a domestic dispute.

Witnesses described the shooter as a tall bearded man who was acting strange inside the studio before opening fire on the class.

Beierle acted alone, Mr DeLeo confirmed.

“We’re all very saddened and shocked by the events that occurred, but it’s important that people understand that there is no immediate threat outside of what has already occurred this evening,” DeLeo said.

He said that some in the yoga studio showed courage and tried to stop him.

The shooting has shaken the community.

“It’s a place that brings me joy and peace, and I think it’s ruined,” said Katie Bohnett, an instructor at the yoga studio who skipped her normal Friday practice to meet a friend for dinner.

“This monster ruined it.”

Beierle posed as a customer to gain entrance to the studio, then started shooting without warning.

Bohnett said that those at the studio Friday were yoga devotees. She said she did not recognise Beierle.

Witnesses who were at the shopping centre described how people who had been in the studio, including one who was bleeding, ran away, seeking shelter in nearby bars and restaurants as shots rang out.

Police responded within a few minutes, but by then Beierle had fatally shot himself, leaving police to search for a motive and a community to wonder what prompted the violence near the city’s fashionable mid-town neighbourhoods.