The Latest: 2 shootings took place outside club last year

Although detectives found gun casings in the parking lot, the two men who were shot told police they did not want to press charges.

Beer posters still hung in its windows Monday, but Club Blu’s alcohol license was revoked on June 7 of this year. The club owner was supposed to be operating a restaurant where the majority of sales came from food and nonalcoholic beverages, but regulators said they couldn’t tell that from business records.

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5:20 p.m.

The mother of one of two teens killed at a Florida nightclub says she had warned him to know where exits were and to get on the floor and crawl under a table if a shooting broke out.

Stephanie White, the mother of 18-year-old Stef’an Strawder, says she warned him because she recalled the recent shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, which left 49 people dead in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

However, White says her son was shot in the parking lot and didn’t have a chance to seek an exit or hide. White says Stef’an’s sister also was shot in the leg and was sent home from the hospital. She was looking for her brother and didn’t realize initially she had been wounded.

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4:40 p.m.

A hospital patient who was wounded in the Fort Myers nightclub shooting has been released, and three other victims are still there.

Lee Memorial Health System said in a statement Monday afternoon that two people at the hospital are still in critical condition and one is in fair condition. Two people were killed and 17 others were wounded when gunfire erupted on teen night at Club Blu.

Authorities say they have three persons of interest in custody and they are looking for more. They have not released a motive, but they have ruled out terrorism.

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2:35 p.m.

The interim Fort Myers police chief says authorities have three persons of interest in custody and they are looking for others in the slayings of two teens at a nightclub.

Chief Dennis Eads said Monday that his officers responded to a chaotic scene at Club Blu at about 12:30 a.m. and immediately started helping the wounded. Nearly 20 people were wounded. He says some of the victims drove themselves to hospitals and others were taken there by ambulances.

The chief said the shooting was not an act of terrorism but he did not release a motive for the shooting.

Gov. Rick Scott promised the state would do everything it could to help the victims and hold those responsible accountable. He also noted that the shooting happened as the state is seeing a 45-year low in the crime rate.

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2 p.m.

A security guard at a nightclub where two teens were killed says she saw someone attack with a semi-automatic weapon, spraying bullets in the vicinity.

Brandy Mclaughlin was hired for the event, billed as a party for teens, as a security guard. She says she heard what sounded like firecrackers when the shooting started.

She says the gunman wasn’t targeting anyone in particular, adding: “It was an idiot. An idiot with a firearm.”

Mclaughlin says her girlfriend, Terry Parnell, who also was hired for the security detail that night, was next to one of the teens who was killed and that she also was shot and wounded in the gunfire.

Mclaughlin says she gave her girlfriend a tourniquet, and Parnell is now doing fine.

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1:45 p.m.

The owner of a Florida nightclub where two teens were shot and killed says she hired 10 security guards to patrol a party for youths before the shooting happened.

Cheryl Filardi said Monday that she was in the club’s back room when the shots rang out. She says two guards were in the parking lot, one or two at the door and the rest floating inside.

The club has had four or five teen parties over the past half-dozen years, and this was the second one this summer. She says the parties are something positive for a rough and often-violent neighbourhood. She says the club always hires extra security for the parties and has never had a problem.

A 14-year-old and 18-year-old were killed, and 17 were wounded in the shooting.

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12:50 p.m.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott and leaders in Fort Myers are planning on holding a news conference to talk about the shooting at a nightclub that killed two teenagers and wounded more than a dozen other people.

The city said in a statement that the news conference would be held at 2 p.m. Monday. The mayor, interim police chief and sheriff are also scheduled to speak.

Authorities are working to determine a motive into the shooting at Club Blu. They have said it was not an act of terror.

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11:30 a.m.

Police investigating a nightclub shooting in Fort Myers say some of the people injured were treated at a hospital and released without talking to investigators.

Police Capt. Jim Mulligan said in a statement Monday that it is imperative that those who were treated and released speak with investigators.

He says investigators are working to determine a motive into the shooting at Club Blu. They have said it was not an act of terror.

Two teens were killed and 17 other people were wounded when gunfire erupted at the club early Monday.

Four people are still in the hospital.

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10:45 a.m.

Hospital officials say four people remain hospitalized after a nightclub shooting in Florida that left two dead and 17 wounded.

Lisa Sgarlata, chief administrative officer for Lee Memorial Health System, says two people are in critical condition, and two are in fair condition. Officials said earlier that the others wounded were treated and released Monday morning.

The victims ranged in age from 12 to 27.

Authorities say the shooting was not an act of terror, but what sparked the violence is not yet clear. The shooting happened at Club Blu in Fort Myers, which had hosted a swimsuit-themed party for teens late Sunday night.

The club said on its Facebook page that the shooting broke out as parents came to pick up their children.

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This item has been corrected to show that Sgarlata is the hospital’s chief administrative officer, not the chief executive officer.

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10:20 a.m.

Fort Myers police say the shooting at a nightclub that left two dead was not an act of terrorism.

Police Capt. Jim Mulligan said in a statement that the investigation is active and investigators are working to determine a motive into the shooting at Club Blu.

Authorities also identified the two victims who died as 14-year-old Sean Archilles and 18-year-old Stef’an Strawder.

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The item has corrected the spelling of Stef’an.

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9:30 a.m.

Online state records show the alcohol license for a Fort Myers, Florida, club that was the site of a deadly shooting was revoked June 7.

The records from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation state that Club Blu’s license was revoked due to an incident that occurred a year ago but there are no details available.

The same records also show a complaint was filed in 2014 for “criminal activity” and that the club was given an official notice.

Two people were killed and 17 wounded in a shooting at the club early Monday after the club hosted a swimsuit-themed party for teens. It was not immediately clear what triggered the violence.

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9:20 a.m.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott says he’s cancelling his scheduled events for the day to meet with officials in Fort Myers, where a nightclub shooting killed two and wounded 17.

In a statement, Scott says he’s spoken with Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson, Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott and Ft. Myers Interim Police Chief Dennis Eads to offer any assistance from the state.

The early Monday shooting at Club Blu happened as parents were picking up their children from a party for teens.

Scott says they will continue to pray for the victims and their families.

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7:50 a.m.

Officials say a shooting broke out at a nightclub as parents picked up their kids from a party for teens, leaving two dead and at least 17 wounded.

Cheryl Garn, a spokeswoman for Lee Memorial Health System, says that three people remain hospitalized Monday morning. Garn says the victims range in age from 12 to 27.

Club Blu says on its Facebook page that the shooting broke out as parents picked up their children. The post from the Fort Myers nightclub says armed security had been posted at the event inside and outside.

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7:25 a.m.

A Florida nightclub says a shooting that left two dead and 16 wounded broke out in the parking lot as parents picked up their children from a party for teens.

Club Blu posted on its Facebook page Monday morning that it was trying to give the teens “what we thought was a safe place to have a good time.” The post from the Fort Myers nightclub says armed security had been posted at the event inside and outside.

The club says the shooting happened as the club was closing.

Hospital officials say the victims range in age from 12 to 27. Four people were still being treated Monday morning.

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7 a.m.

Officials say two people have been killed and at least 16 wounded in a shooting outside a nightclub in Florida.

Lee Memorial Health System says in a press release that 16 victims ranging in age from 12 to 27 started arriving at the facility around 1:30 a.m. One of those people died at the hospital.

Four people remained at the hospital early Monday, including two in the intensive care unit. All others were treated and released. One person was treated and released at a different hospital.

Police say the area around Club Blu has been deemed safe, and three people have been taken into custody.

The shooting comes more than a month after a nightclub shooting in Orlando that was the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.

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5:55 a.m.

Police in Fort Myers say the area around a deadly nightclub shooting has been deemed safe.

But in an email, police Capt. Jim Mulligan says the street will remain closed as authorities investigate.

The shooting at Club Blu killed two people and as many as 17 people were shot early Monday.

Three people have been taken into custody.

The shooting comes more than a month after a nightclub shooting in Orlando that was the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history. The shooting at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 left 49 victims dead and 53 others wounded.

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5:40 a.m.

Authorities say two people have been killed and more than a dozen shot at a nightclub in Fort Myers, Florida.

Capt. Jim Mulligan of the Fort Myers Police Department told WINK-TV as many as 17 people have been shot in the early Monday shooting at Club Blu.

Mulligan told the station three people have been taken into custody and that there are two active crime scenes.

The shooting comes more than a month after a nightclub shooting in Orlando that was the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

The Latest: 2 shootings took place outside club last year

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