FORT MYERS, Fla. — The interim Fort Myers police chief said 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 said 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.
Channel 9’s Ty Russell spoke with Juan Santabanez, who lives across the street from the club.
“Where did you go when you heard bullets?" asked Russell.
"I hit the floor," said Santabanez. "(I saw) People just bleeding and people on the floor."
Lee Memorial Hospital emergency room physician Dr. Drew Mikulaschek said he'd never dealt with a situation like Monday's shooting.
"I've been here for 17 years now and this, in terms of (gunshot wound) victims, this is the worst I've ever seen it," he said.
The two teens killed in the shooting were identified as Sean Archilles, 14, and Stef'an Strawder, 18.
Two of the victims still at the hospital were admitted to intensive care, where they were listed in critical condition.
"I feel devastated. I feel like my family isn't safe here either," said Santabanez.
Victims’ ages ranged from 12 to 27 years old, Lee Memorial said.
The owner of the nightclub said she hired 10 security guards to patrol the “Swimsuit Glow Party.”
Cheryl Filardi said that she was in the club's back room when the shots rang out. She said 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 said the parties are something positive for a rough and often-violent neighborhood, and the club always hires extra security for the parties and has never had a problem.
A security guard at a nightclub said she saw someone attack with a semi-automatic weapon, spraying bullets in the vicinity.
Brandy Mclaughlin was hired as a security guard for the event that was billed as a party for teens. She said she heard what sounded like firecrackers when the shooting started.
Mclaughlin said the gunman wasn't targeting anyone in particular, adding: "It was an idiot. An idiot with a firearm."
Mclaughlin said 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 said she gave her girlfriend a tourniquet, and Parnell is recovering.
The names of the persons of interest have not been released.
The city said it has started a fund for victims and families.
"The goal will be for this to never happen again. No one wants to see this happen," Scott said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
