Two killed and 16 hurt as gunman opens fire on a teenagers’ party
A GUNMAN shot dead two teenagers and injured at least 16 others after opening fire outside a Florida nightclub hosting a “teen night” early yesterday.
The latest of a string of fatal shootings in the US, happened in Fort Myers.
The dead were named as promising high school basketball player Stefan Strawder, 18, and 14-year old Sean Archilles.
The gunman opened fire in the parking lot of Club Blu just after midnight local time.
Police said they found “several victims suffering from gunshot wounds”. Survivors had injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening.
The incident was not terror-related, officers said.
The injured were aged from 12 to 27. Witnesses described the shooting scene as a “madhouse”. Syreeta Gary, whose daughter was at the club, said: “I just thank God that my daughter is OK because she could have been shot.”
She told how her daughter was “dodging bullets and running, dropping between cars”.
She added: “It’s ridiculous that these kids have to go through this.
“They can’t enjoy themselves because you have people there who have criminalistic minds. They just want to terrorise.”
Three people were arrested and were being questioned yesterday.
Club Blu was hosting what was billed a “swimsuit glow party” where no ID was required. In a statement the club said: “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.
“There was armed security, full security, inside and out. There was nothing more that we could have done. It was not kids at the party who did this despicable act.”
The shooting was reported to have started just as parents arrived to pick up their children. Police are still looking for a motive.
The shootings came six weeks after a gunman killed 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Florida.