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Fort Myers, Fla., Shooting Leaves 2 Dead and 17 Wounded, Officials Say Shooting at Fort Myers, Fla., Nightclub Leaves 2 Dead and at Least 16 Hurt
(35 minutes later)
MIAMI — Two people were killed and at least 17 were wounded in a shooting early Monday morning at a nightclub in Fort Myers, in southwestern Florida, according to the city’s Police Department and to local news reports. MIAMI — Two people were killed and at least 16 were wounded in a shooting early Monday morning at a nightclub in Fort Myers, in southwestern Florida, according to the city’s Police Department and to local news reports.
WINK, the CBS station in the area, attributed the toll to Capt. Jim Mulligan of the Police Department, but another official at the department, reached by telephone, confirmed only that the shooting had taken place. Police officers were called to the nightclub, Club Blu, on Evans Avenue and almost three miles south of City Hall, around 12:30 a.m. Monday. They came upon “several victims suffering from gunshot wounds” in the parking lot of the nightclub, Capt. Jim Mulligan of the city’s Police Department said in a statement.
Police officers were called to Club Blu, a nightclub on Evans Avenue, almost three south of City Hall, around 12:30 a.m. Monday. They came upon “several victims suffering from gunshot wounds” in the parking lot of the nightclub, WINK quoted a police statement as saying. At “this time, the scene is still very active as investigators and crime scene personnel attempt to determine what had occurred,” Captain Mulligan said. “The Police Department is attempting to determine a motive for this incident.”
WINK reported that the authorities were searching two other sites in the city — one on Parkway Street, the other on Ortiz Avenue. One person has been held for questioning. The authorities were searching two other sites in the city — one on Parkway Street, where a home and several vehicles were shot at, with one person injured, and another on Ortiz Avenue, where three people were detained for questioning.
The Police Department, and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, were “actively canvassing the area looking for other persons who may be involved in this incident,” Captain Mulligan said.
Victims, ages 12 to 27, began arriving at Lee Memorial Hospital around 1:30 a.m., according to Cheryl Garn, a hospital spokeswoman.
“Sixteen people were treated in the trauma center and emergency department,” she said in a statement. “One victim expired at the hospital.”
Four remained at the hospital, one in critical condition, while the others were treated and released.
Another shooting victim was treated at Cape Coral Hospital and released, Ms. Garn said.
A poster circulated online showed that the nightclub had hosted an indoor “swimsuit glow party” Sunday evening, with live performances.A poster circulated online showed that the nightclub had hosted an indoor “swimsuit glow party” Sunday evening, with live performances.
Local news outlets described a chaotic scene at the nightclub.
One woman, Syreeta Gary, said that her daughter had dodged bullets, but that her daughter’s friend had been shot in the leg, as they fled the club. “I just thank God that my daughter is O.K. because she could’ve been shot,” she said in a video posted on Twitter by Malcolm Johnson, a reporter with FOX4, a news station in Fort Myers. “Her dodging bullets, running, dropping between cars, it’s ridiculous that these kids have to go through this. They can’t enjoy themselves because you have other people with criminalistic minds, and they just want to terrorize people.”
The attack occurred just 43 days after a gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 others at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. The attacker, Omar Mateen, who took hostages at the nightclub and was killed in a police shootout, had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State.The attack occurred just 43 days after a gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 others at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. The attacker, Omar Mateen, who took hostages at the nightclub and was killed in a police shootout, had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State.
The June 12 massacre in Orlando, which authorities described as the worst mass shooting by a single assailant in United States history, stunned the country and spurred moves in Congress for tighter gun control. The June 12 massacre in Orlando, which the authorities described as the worst mass shooting by a single assailant in United States history, stunned the country and spurred moves in Congress for tighter gun control.
The underlying motive for the killing, however, has continued to elude investigators. Federal officials note that Mr. Mateen had most likely been radicalized online to some extent. But several people have also come forward with accounts that claim Mr. Mateen had previously visited gay nightclubs or had had romantic encounters with men. Fort Myers, about 120 miles northwest of Miami, has about 65,000 residents. Historically, it has been a winter destination; Thomas Edison and Henry Ford had homes there. The Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox have spring training there.