Police say 1 killed, 4 injured in shooting at ZombiCon

“The shooting happened about 11:44 p.m. Saturday in downtown Fort Myers at a “ZombiCon” event”. Large crowds were still in the streets and authorities quickly cleared out nearby bars and set up crime-scene tape, while others searched for a suspect.

Medico also said that photos or video footage people took of the event will be welcomed by investigators.

Although more than 20,000 revellers were expected at Zombicon, a few locals were less than delighted by the arrival of thousands of people dressed as bloodied zombies and decaying corpses.

The mayor’s office appealed to festival-goers to help in the investigation.

The fatality in the shooting was said to be a 20-year-old student who played football at a local junior college. But as shots were fired, a mass of desperate people pushed against locked doors trying to enter the barber shop.

“I was right here, ” Stancel said of the shooting.

Authorities said the suspect or suspects were still at large Sunday. Unfortunately, the suspect was not captured, but authorities are hopeful that video and other images from the event will help in apprehending him. Police did not indicate whether they believed the victims were targeted or whether the shooting was directly related to the event.

A statement on the ZombiCon Facebook page said organizers were saddened by the news and the group takes the safety of its patrons very seriously.

Revellers, many of them dressed in costume, fled the annual ZombiCon event shortly before midnight on Saturday night.

One restaurant posted signs warning visitors that ZombiCon participants weren’t welcome. “Quarantined. No Zombies allowed”, the notice read. Chin says organizers are questioning whether the event should stay in downtown Fort Myers in future years and are discussing other issues such as metal detectors, weapons checks and beefed up security. “Sadly, we’re moving in that direction”.

The football player hadn’t had an easy life, relatives say; he’d lost a child, his mother, his father, and a grandmother, one cousin tells the Naples Daily News, but Taylor never wavered.