Florida shooting: Cops confirm attack was 'not an act of terror'

Two people have reportedly been shot dead and atleast 17 injured in a mass shooting at an event for teenagers at a nightclub in Florida. According to Mirror, the shooting is reported to have broken out at Club Blu in Fort Myers, Florida, during a ’teen night’ event in the early hours of this morning. The incident happened shortly after 1 am. Daily Mail quoted Lieutenant Jim Mulligan of Lee County Sheriff’s Office as confirming that as many as 17 people have been injured. Children as young as 13 years of age are believed to have been injured. Police in Fort Myers, Florida identified the two killed as 14-year-old Shawn Achilles and 18-year-old Ste’fan Strawder, who was described by local media as a star high school basketball player. The police is still investigating the scene. A “person of interest” has been detained at another location, the station said. A nearby home and vehicles were also shot at, resulting in one minor injury. Police said they could not give a motive for the shooting but said “this incident is not an act of terror (as it has been referred) or terrorism.” AP quoted Captain Jim Mulligan of the Fort Myers Police Department as telling WINK-TV that three people have been taken into custody and there are two active crime scenes. Although the police said that the area around the nightclub has been deemed safe, Mulligan wrote in an e-mail that the street will remain closed as the investigations are still on. It is not yet known if a shooter or multiple shooters are on the loose. NBC TV reported that police officers located several victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Injuries ranged from minor to life threatening. All victims were taken from the scene by Lee County Emergency Medical services to area hospitals. According to Sputnik News, witnesses heard around 30 gunshots from more than one gun. Here is the poster of the event at which the shooting took place:

Club Blu on it’s Facebook page said that the shooting happened just when parents were picking up their children.

With inputs from agencies.