At least two people are dead and as many as 16 wounded after a shooting in the parking lot of a nightclub in Fort Myers, Fla., early Monday morning.
But Fort Myers interim police chief Dennis Eads said there has been no link connecting the shooting to terrorism.
The shooting happened in the parking lot of Club Blu Bar and Grill at around 12:30 a.m, which was holding an all-ages party. The motive is still unknown, but police said three people were in custody as suspects, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
The victims ranged from ages 12 to 27.
According to a local CBS affiliate, 16 people were treated in the trauma center and emergency department. One person died at the hospital and the other died at the scene.
Ste’fan Strawder, an 18-year-old basketball player for Lehigh Senior High School, has been identified as one of the two people killed. The other is Sean Archilles, 14.
Two of those shot are in the intensive care unit, and one other person is in fair condition. All other victims were treated and released.
One gunman was detained first, followed by two more suspects, all before 5:30 a.m., said Fort Myers Police Department Capt. Jim Mulligan. The weapons used have been recovered.
One witnesses described the scene outside the club as a “mad house.” One woman who lives two blocks from Club Blu said she heard about 30 gunshots from what she believes to have been multiple guns.
In a statement on Facebook, Club Blu offered it apologies and condolences to everyone involved in the incident, and noted that there was armed security at the nightclub.
“We are deeply sorry for all involved. We tried to give the teens WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS A SAFE PLACE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME. Ages 12-17. There was armed security as well as full security, inside and out. As the club was closing and parents were picking their children up… that’s when all this took place. There was nothing more we could of done as you see it was not kids at the party that did this despicable act. Our condolences to all parties involved,” the Monday morning post reads.
The Bureau Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting the Fort Myers Police Department with the investigation, and the FBI is also standing by.
Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi said they would be heading to Fort Myers.
Monday’s shooting is the second mass shooting in Fort Myers in less than a year. In October 2015, shots were fired during a Halloween-themed even tin downtown Fort Myers, killing one and injuring six others. No arrests have yet been made in that shooting.
