FORT MYERS, FLA. — A shooting outside a Fort Myers, Fla., nightclub that was hosting an event for teens left two people dead and up to 16 others injured, police said.

Gunfire erupted in the parking lot of the Club Blu Bar and Grill in Fort Myers at 12:30 a.m. Monday as a crowd of 12- to 17-year-olds were leaving the “Swimsuit Glow Party.” Police have identified the victims as Sean Archilles, 14, and 18-year-old high school basketball player Ste’fan Strawder. Three people have been detained for questioning over the fatal shooting.

Tatianna Nouhaioi, who was at the nightclub, described the chaotic scene as terrified youngsters ran for cover.

“The kid I was holding in my lap, he was 14 years old that got shot,” she told ABC News. “And then there was a little girl who also got shot and she was 13. One of the security guard’s daughter got shot, so I mean there was kids 13, 14, 15, 16. It was a young kids event.”

Frightened mom Syreeta Gary said her young daughter narrowly escaped being wounded. Her daughter’s best friend, however, was shot in the leg.

“I just thank God that my daughter is OK cause she could have been shot,” Gary told FOX4 Now reporter Malcolm Johnson in a video posted to Twitter. “Her dodging bullets and running, dropping between cars. It’s ridiculous that these kids have to go through this.”

Officers arrived at the parking lot on Evans Avenue to find several young people suffering from gunshot wounds, ranging from minor to life-threatening. Some of the injured were transported to area hospitals by Lee County Emergency Medical Services. Others made their own way to receive treatment.

Several hours after the shooting, the nightclub posted the following message to Facebook. “We are deeply sorry for all involved,” it said. “There was armed security as well as full security, inside and out.” The club said there was “nothing more we could [have] done” and that it was “not kids at the party that did this despicable act.”

The exact circumstances surrounding the shooting still remain unclear. But Fort Myers Police chief Dennis Eads told WINK News that there was “nothing to connect it to a terrorist act.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott paid tribute to the victims via a statement, adding that he’d cancelled his schedule to meet with local law enforcement officials.“While we are still learning the details about what happened this morning, we know that some of the victims of this terrible incident were children,” said Scott. “We will continue to pray for the victims and their families.”

Two other active crime scenes were connected to Monday’s incident, police said. One was at a nearby home on Parkway Street, which is reported to have also been sprayed by bullets. One person suffered a minor injury. 

The second scene was on Ortiz Avenue, where police said one of the three people had been detained. 

Police said the area surrounding the nightclub has now been “deemed safe” but that it remains sealed off as the investigation continues.

Source: HUFFPOST