Fort Meyers Police Department has assured the public that the deadly shooting at Club Blu early Monday morning was not a terrorist act.
“The Fort Meyers Police would like to confirm that this incident is not an act of terror (as it has been referred) or terrorism,” the department said in a statement.
The department also identified those killed in the shooting as Sean Archilles, 14, and Ste’fan Strawder, 18. At least 16 others were wounded.
The incident occurred at Club Blu during teen night. Here’s what the restaurant’s management wrote on its Facebook page in the wake of the attack:
“We are deeply sorry for all involved. We tried to give the teens WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS A SAFE PLACE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME. Ages 12-17. There was armed security as well as full security,inside and out. As the club was closing and parents were picking their children up…..that’s when all this took place. There was nothing more we could of done az you see it was not kids at the party that did this despicable act. Our condolences to all parties involved.”
Fort Myers PD has since detained two subjects for questioning and deemed the area safe, per Capt. Jim Mulligan. There were initial fears that this shooting was connected to the attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando in which 49 people were gunned down and 53 more wounded by a shooter who pledged allegiance to Islamist terror group ISIS.