The Pennsylvania State Police recently revised a hate-crime designation for a 2009 mass shooting near Pittsburgh from “anti-gender-nonconforming” to “anti-female.”
In August 2009, George Sodoni opened fire inside an LA Fitness Center, killing three women and injuring nine others. Sodoni then committed suicide.
The massacre occurred in Collier Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, and was investigated by township and county police.
Sodoni’s writings indicated a deep-seated hatred for women, and Collier Township police reported the incident to the Pennsylvania State Police as an anti-female hate crime.
But due to a computer error, in 2013 the incident was re-categorized as an “anti-gender-nonconforming” hate crime on the state-police website.
In an email last week, Cpl. Adam Reed, a state police spokesperson, said the error has been corrected. He said the error occurred when the FBI updated hate-crimes codes in 2013.
“We continually strive to provide the most accurate and timely data and information to the citizens we serve,” Reed said. “As such, we are happy that we could successfully resolve this incident.”
Pennsylvania’s hate-crimes law doesn’t include gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability, but federal guidelines encourage the tracking of bias incidents in those categories.
Justin F. Robinette, a local civil-rights attorney, commended the state police for correcting the designation.
“I commend the Pennsylvania State Police for investigating and correcting the error when the question was raised,” Robinette said in an email. “Prompt investigation and correction of these types of errors by the police give the community confidence. It’s good to know the state police remedied the problem and appear to be committed to accurate reporting of hate crimes.”