By Stephanie Allen
Orlando Sentinel
FORT MYERS, Fla. — At least two people are dead and 14 injured after a shooting early Monday morning outside a Fort Myers, Fla., nightclub that was hosting a “Swimsuit Glow Party” for middle and high school students.
Fort Myers police were questioning three people possibly connected to the shooting at Club Blu on Evans Avenue, a few miles south of the city’s downtown area.
Their identities haven’t been released and it was unclear if anyone was arrested.
Reports say the victims ranged in age from 12 to 27. Police had not released any of the victims’ names.
A flier shared on social media advertised the Sunday night event as an “indoor beachglow party.” No ID was required and several local artists were lined up to perform, according to the flier.
The club posted on Facebook Monday morning that the event — for ages 12 to 17 — had ended and teens were leaving when the shooting happened about 12:30 a.m.
A post made just before 7 a.m. stated teens didn’t need ID “because it was a middle school/high school event. 12 year olds usually don’t have a student ID.”
That post was quickly deleted and replaced with one saying the club is “deeply sorry for all involved.”
“We tried to give the teens what we thought was a safe place to have a good time,” the new post reads. “There was armed security as well as full security, inside and out.”
Officers responded to reports of a shooting in the club’s parking lot and found several victims with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening, police said.
Emergency medical crews took the injured to local hospitals, where police found more victims, who had driven themselves to get help.
Detectives Monday morning were trying to determine the exact number of victims and said it appeared at least 14 people were injured.
Two others were killed, police said.
Fort Myers police were at two other scenes – a home about half a mile north of the club where two vehicles were shot up, and along a street about seven miles away.
Both appeared to be connected to the shooting outside Club Blu, police said.
Few details about either of the other scenes were released. Police said one person received minor injuries when the two vehicles were shot up.
The scene along Ortiz Avenue, between Luckett Road and Ballard Road, is where officers found the three people being questioned.
Copyright 2016 The Orlando Sentinel