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Florida Nightclub Shooting: Two Dead And 16 Wounded At Teen Party In Fort Myers

By Lawrence Arboleda
Published on: 22:08 PST, Jul 24, 2016

Two people have been pronounced dead and at least 16 wounded following a shooting at Club Blu in Fort Myers, as reported by USA Today.

The Fort Myers Police Department responded to the deadly shooting at around 12:30 am ET Monday at the parking lot of 3580 Evans Ave. According to the reports, more than a dozen victims suffered gunshot wounds ranging from minor to life-threatening.

Fort Myer police said that the shooting appears to have been carried out by multiple gunmen. There’s no official word yet on whether the shooting is terror-related.

Three people have been arrested so far.

The shooting incident at Club Blu occurred during a “swimsuit glow party” for teenagers on Sunday night, as reported by a local ABC station.

A local broadcaster for WINK says that witnesses at the scene described the venue as a “mad house,” the BBC reports.

The police are still investigating the possible motive behind the shooting.

The police said that the victims have been taken to local hospitals in Florida. Others went to hospitals of their own choosing, and some underwent self-treatment.

The police responded to two other areas where other shootings occurred. The first one was near the 2500 block of Parkway Street, where a residence and cars were shot at. One person suffered a minor injury, according to the police.

Malcolm Johnson, a Fox News reporter based in Fort Myers, has released video footage of the scene.

The second was on Ortiz Avenue, where a person of interest was reportedly detained. The police are in the process of investigating whether the two shooting incidents are related to the one that occurred at Club Blu.

The Fort Myers police and deputies from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office are monitoring and investigating the areas of interest to search for anyone who might have been involved with the shootings.

Syreta Gary, a woman whose daughter was at the club during the shooting, told the local Fox 4 news channel that her daughter was “dodging bullets and running dropping between cars” when the gunman opened fire.

“I just thank God that my daughter is OK because she could have been shot,” Gary said.

“It’s ridiculous that these kids have to go through this, they can’t enjoy themselves because you have other people there who have criminalistic minds – they just want to terrorize things. I’m just glad she’s OK.”

Club patron Timothy Settles posted a video of himself lying in a hospital bed on Facebook after he was shot outside Club Blu. Before he published the video, he posted a Facebook status with the words, “I don’t want to die.”

Hundreds of people left words of support.

https://www.facebook.com/Iiltim201890/posts/1047454385290235?pnref=story

ABC journalist Rodney Dunigan took to Twitter to publish the flyer promoting the Club Blu teen party. The flyer described the party as a “birthday bash” with Nieya being the main performer.

The deadly shooting in Florida occurred six weeks after the shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. Interestingly, Pulse is just 150 miles away from Clu Blu. The gunman, who pledged support for the Islamic State, fatally gunned down 49 patrons and wounded 53 before being shot by the Orlando police. The Orlando shooting is considered by many as the worst shooting in U.S. history, as reported by CNN.

The gunman, Omar Mateen, 29, who lived in Fort Pierce, Florida, was interviewed by the FBI in 2013, but was not considered a threat.

During the attack, Mateen called 911 to pledge his allegiance to ISIS. A U.S. official confirmed that Mateen mentioned the Boston Marathon bombers.

Mateen used an assault rifle and a pistol when he opened fire at the patrons at the Pulse club around 2 a.m. on June 12.

[Image via YouTube/BBC News]

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