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Shooting at Fort Myers club kills two teens, wounds at least 18 others; terrorism ruled out (w/video)

 
Two people have been killed and more than a dozen shot at the Club Blu  nightclub in Fort Myers early Monday morning, July 25, 2016, authorities said. [Photo from video]
Two people have been killed and more than a dozen shot at the Club Blu nightclub in Fort Myers early Monday morning, July 25, 2016, authorities said. [Photo from video]
Published July 26, 2016

FORT MYERS — Jessy Dormus and his cousin were already in the parking lot when the shooting started.

Dormus and Sean Archilles, 14, had spent several hours at Club Blu Restaurant and Lounge Monday night for a teen event advertised as a "swimsuit glow party." People were filtering out of the club about 12:30 a.m. when gunfire erupted in the parking lot.

"Right when I heard the first bullet, I started running and I hid," Jessy recalled Tuesday as he stood in front of his house just a block away from the club. But his cousin, he said, "didn't know where to run. He was in the middle."

When the shots stopped, Jessy emerged from his hiding spot and saw his cousin lying on the pavement. He was bleeding from the mouth and barely breathing. Crying, Jessy told a friend to stay with Sean while Jessy went to call his mother.

"I think he was shot in the head," said Jessy, 15.

Sean and Ste'fan Strawder, an 18-year-old soon-to-be senior and standout basketball player at Lehigh High School, were killed by gunfire from multiple shooters, according to Fort Myers police. At least 18 others, ages 12 to 27, were wounded, interim Police Chief Dennis Eads said.

The shooting comes six weeks after the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The Pulse shooting June 12 left 49 victims dead and 53 others wounded. That shooter, Omar Mateen, who was shot dead by law enforcement claimed allegiance to the terrorist group the Islamic State.

But Fort Myers officials quickly ruled out terrorism at Club Blu. Eads said investigators had detained three "persons of interest" but did not provide a motive or other information.

"We're still looking for others," Eads said. "I remain very resolved that justice will be served."

The latest: Associated Press bulletins on the nightclub shooting in Fort Myers.

•••

Situated at 3580 Evans Avenue in a corner of an aging strip mall south of downtown, Club Blu described itself on its Facebook page as a restaurant and lounge with "New Orleans Style Soulfood." An earlier version of the page advertised a "no panties night," saying that women without underwear would be admitted free.

The flyer for Monday's event advertised live music, a DJ and "free glow kit and beach toys" for a $5 cover.

"No ID required," it said.

After the shooting, club management posted messages on Facebook that said the event was meant for kids ages 12-17.

Club Blu, via Facebook

A Facebook post to Club Blu's page early Monday after the shooting.


Club Blu, via Facebook

A Facebook post to Club Blu's page early Monday after the shooting.

"We tried to give the teens WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS A SAFE PLACE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME," the post said. "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 it all took place. There was nothing more we could of done … it was not kids at the party that did this despicable act."

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Later, another post lashed out at commenters and the media, emphasizing that no identifiation was required because "12 years olds usually don't have a student id."

"Y'ALL BE SO QUICK TO WANNA REPORT NEGATIVITY INSTEAD OF FINDING OUT THE TRUTH."

The club's Facebook page was deleted by Monday afternoon.

Officers arrived at the club shortly after calls about gunfire and people down in the club parking lot, Eads said.

"It was very chaotic," Eads said. "No one knew what was going on or what had happened."

Officers used trauma kits in their cars to apply tourniquets to bleeding victims before they could be taken to area hospitals. Injuries ranged from minor to life-threatening. Some victims who had been injured left the scene on their own and were treated at local area hospitals, Eads said.

Sixteen victims were taken to Lee Memorial Hospital. Of those, three remained hospitalized Monday evening, said spokeswoman Mary Briggs. Two were listed in critical condition, the third in fair condition.

Investigators were working two other scenes connected to the shooting, police said.

About a mile north of the club, a home and cars on Parkway Street were shot at. One person was injured. Further north, on Ortiz Avenue near Luckett Road, police detained at least one person of interest.

Eads identified the three men in custody as Demetrius O'Neal, 19, Derrick Church, 19, and Tajze Battle, 22. The Fort Myers News-Press reported that police were searching for other suspects.

The newspaper reported that church a Lee County sheriff's deputy apprehended Church after a brief car chase during which Church accelerated toward the deputy. The deputy fired a handgun at Church, striking him in the abdomen.

Church was treated at a local hospital and arrested on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and fleeing and eluding, the newspaper reporter. O'Neal and Battle were located and each charged with Resisting without Violence.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are among the agencies assisting with the investigation.

"This state believes in justice, so those that have been involved in this will clearly be held accountable," said Gov. Rick Scott, who appeared at the Monday news conference

Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson Jr. said he was awakened at 1:30 a.m. by a phone call from a Fort Myers resident who said her niece had been injured in the shooting.

"This is what every mayor and council member hopes never happens in their city," Henderson said. "It is heartbreaking … to all of us trying to do our best to make sure citizens are safe.".

Back at Club Blue, evidence stickers marked bullet holes on the outside walls. A Hyundai sport utility vehicle, one window shattered and another blown out, sat just outside the entrance. A Fort Myers Fire Department crew used a fire hose and bleach to wash away blood on the sidewalk.

Satellite trucks and vans from dozens of news media outlets filled the parking lot in a now routine American ritual associated with the words "mass shooting." But Sylvia Bargouthi, who owns a liquor store near Club Blu and came to the scene Monday to lay a stuffed animal at a makeshift memorial, said the shooting was just another sign of violence that has plagued the city.

"It's happening every day in Fort Myers," said Bargouthi, a 38-year-old Fort Myers resident with children of her own. "This is just the first time we've gotten so much media attention."

•••

The shooting stunned Strawder's friends, teammates and coaches, who said the shooting cut short a promising basketball career.

Strawder was a member of Florida Future Elite 17U team and competed at the AAU National Championship Showcase Orlando over the weekend, according News-Press. He was one of three finalists for the newspaper's basketball player of the year award.

Strawder's mother, Stephanie White, told the News-Press that her son was shot in his right shoulder as he walked through Club Blu's door on his way to the parking lot.

"No matter where he went, everyone invited him into their home like he was their own," White told the newspaper. "People loved him."

Sean Archilles attended Royal Palm Exceptional School. Principal Robert Morretti said in a statement he "could brighten any room with his outgoing personality and contagious smile."

The "senseless violence" dealt a crushing blow to the Lee County School District, Superintendent Gregory Adkins said at Monday's news conference.

"I would like to truly encourage us as a community to come together around this particular incident," Adkins said. "Too often, in my short tenure, we've had to address unnecessary loss in our community that impacts our students and also our families."

Monday afternoon, friends and family members cried and hugged as they gathered outside of Sean's home. His mother Delina was not home and wasn't able to do interviews, a family member said.

Evender Dormus, 17, said his cousin Sean liked to play basketball and football and hang out at the mall and the beach. He was generous, Evender said, helping his Haitian family members learn English and fill out job applications.

Evender said he last saw his cousin when he left for the club with Evender's brother, Jessy. Evender asked him to stay and play dominos with him.

"They said they wanted to go meet girls," Evender said. "I told them to be careful."

Evender was home when he heard what he thought were fireworks, then realized they were gunshots. Moments later, he said, Jessy showed up and tearfully reported that Sean had been shot.

They ran back to the club and saw Sean still lying on the pavement. Police wouldn't let them get close.

The Dormus brothers said they suspect the shooting was gang-related and that their cousin was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He didn't have no beef with people," Jessy Dormus said.

He lowered his eyes to the ground.

"He didn't even get to see high school," he said. "It's sad."

Contact Tony Marrero at tmarrero@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3374. Follow @tmarrerotimes.