Two Killed, Many More Injured in Florida Nightclub Shooting

Two people were shot dead and as many as 16 others were injured in a shooting early Monday in the parking lot of a nightclub in Fort Myers, Fla.

Three people have been detained in relation to the shooting of the Club Blu, said Fort Myers Police spokesman Jim Mulligan. He said the shooting wasn't terrorism related.

The area around the nightclub had been deemed safe, while some roads remained closed. Club Blu was hosting a party for teenagers.

Police arrived at the club and found several gunshot victims, who were taken to nearby hospitals. Other people who suffered minor injuries fled the scene and went to local hospitals on their own, according to police.

A shooting at a Fort Myers home, in which one person suffered a minor injury, was related to the nightclub shooting, police said, without providing further details.

Investigators are working to determine the identity of the victims, the police statement said. Those hurt in the incident were described suffering injuries "from minor to life-threatening," Mr. Mulligan said early Monday.

Witnesses and family members described chaos, according to Facebook accounts and televised local reports.

Syreeta Gary, told Fox 4 that it was a teen event and that patrons were running and hiding between cars to dodge bullets. She said her daughter and a friend fled the gunman as he fired. Her daughter's friend was shot in the leg.

Timothy Settles identified himself as a wounded clubgoer on Facebook, posting a video from his hospital bed. "I don't wabna [sic] die," he wrote.

A witness Juss Olivia posted a Facebook video describing how she hid under a car and then ran to escape the "nonstop spraying" of bullets. She said she saw a young shooting victim.

"The little boy was just laying there on the floor. He was just trying to fight for his life," she said.

Club Blu said it is "deeply sorry" and that "there was nothing more we could have done" in a Facebook post early Monday.

"We tried to give the teens WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS A SAFE PLACE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME. Ages 12-17," the post said.

"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."

The city of Fort Myers is located roughly 150 miles north west of Miami, and is a major tourist destination on Florida's Gulf Coast.

The shooting comes just six weeks after the worst gun massacre in recent U.S. history left 49 dead after an attack at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Police killed that gunman, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, after an hourslong standoff. During his shooting rampage, Mateen called 911 and declared allegiance to Islamic State.

Write to Cameron McWhirter at [e-mail] and Jennifer Levitz at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2016 11:35 ET (15:35 GMT)

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