2 teens killed at Florida nightclub

At least 17 injured in Fort Myers shootings; police hold 3

Dave Allen, 25, and Ryan Caviness, 26, pray Monday for the victims of a deadly shooting outside the Club Blu nightclub in Fort Myers, Fla.
Dave Allen, 25, and Ryan Caviness, 26, pray Monday for the victims of a deadly shooting outside the Club Blu nightclub in Fort Myers, Fla.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Gunfire broke out at a nightclub hosting a swimsuit-themed party for teens in Florida, leaving two teens dead and at least 17 other people wounded, officials said Monday.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the violence, but authorities said the shooting was not an act of terror. Police detained three people and were searching for others, interim Police Chief Dennis Eads said.

"This was not an act of terror, this was not a terrorist act," Eads said at a news conference Monday. "You can put that out of your mind."

The slain teens were 14-year-old Sean Archilles and 18-year-old Stef'an Strawder, police said. Archilles lived about a mile from the nightclub, and loved to play football and basketball, said his father, Jean Archilles.

"He liked to make people laugh. He's a funny kid. He's always joking," Jean Archilles said.

Sean, a student at Royal Palm Exceptional School, was shot in the parking lot, and a girl with him was shot in a leg, said his brothers, John and Verly Francois. They stood outside their mother's house, where family and friends had gathered to comfort her, and said it was hard to believe that an innocent outing with friends had ended in the death of their youngest brother.

"They were just walking to a friend's house about a block away," said John Francois, 19.

Sean, the youngest of four brothers, stood just 5-foot-6, but he was a basketball fanatic. His brothers called him "Baby Kevin Durant" because he looked so much like the NBA star and always had a basketball in his hand.

Strawder starred on the basketball team for Lehigh High School, averaging more than 15 points a game as a junior, according to The News-Press.

"Everyone was afraid to play against him because he was so good. He would guide you and give you advice on how to step up your game and how to guard him and things like that," said 16-year-old Peyton Hebon, who started playing against Strawder in travel basketball leagues in sixth grade.

Strawder was always positive and energetic and was unstoppable on the court, Hebon said.

Four people were in the hospital. Two were in critical condition and two in fair condition, said Lisa Sgarlata, the chief administrative officer at Lee Memorial Health System.

All the other patients were treated and released. The victims ranged in age from 12 to 27. Police were looking to talk with a few of those victims, who were released before talking with detectives.

"It's horrible when these things happen," Gov. Rick Scott said at an afternoon news conference.

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 7 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.

The scene along Ortiz Avenue was where officers found the three people being questioned.

The club is in a strip mall that includes a day care center and is across the street from a large apartment complex. The shooting happened about 12:30 a.m. Monday, just as the club was closing and parents were arriving to pick up their children.

Club owner Cheryl Filardi, who said she was in the back room when the shots rang out, said at least 10 security guards were hired for the party -- two in the parking lot, one or two at the door and the rest floating inside.

She said 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.

"To be honest with you, every day someone's getting shot in this area. These days in Lee County, somebody's always shooting," Filardi said. "If we do teen parties, we always have a ton of security and we've never had a problem."

Tasha Grant said her son grew up with Strawder and that the two had been friends since they were 5 and they played on the city football team together. The talented athlete often spent the night at her house. He was a typical teen boy, who was quiet and loved pizza and was being scouted by colleges, she said.

"He was like a son to me ... Looking at it on the news this morning it just broke me. I'm really hurt. It hurts so bad," she said, adding she had to then break the news to her son.

State records online show the alcohol license for Club Blu was revoked June 7 because of an incident that occurred a year ago, but there were no additional details available, according to records from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The same records show that a complaint was filed in 2014 for "criminal activity" and that the club was given an official notice.

The shooting comes more than a month after a nightclub shooting in Orlando that was the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history. The shooting at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 left 49 victims dead and 53 others wounded.

Information for this article was contributed by Terry Spencer, Tamara Lush, Gary Fineout and Kelli Kennedy of The Associated Press; by Stephanie Allen of the Orlando Sentinel; by Mark Berman and Katie Mettler of The Washington Post; and by Lizette Alvarez, Les Neuhaus, Richard Perez-Pena and Mike McPhate of The New York Times.

A Section on 07/26/2016

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