Police are investigating the shooting of three people on Wednesday at the Lani Kai Island Resort in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. An altercation occurred with gunfire following, which resulted in one fatality.
Police Descend on Gunfire Ridden Area
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation into the shooting. Sheriff Carmine Marceno announced in a press conference that two groups of people began fighting, leading to the shooting at the beach resort.
The gunfire fatally wounded one person and two other victims were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Fox 4 reported.
Three shot, one dead in altercation at Lani Kai Island Resort on Fort Myers Beach. Suspect still at large. Shooting cane after argument between suspect and group. https://t.co/icplNfFJwN
— Michael Braun (@MichaelBraunNP) July 15, 2020
The Suspect is Still on the Loose
As of currently, the police are attempting to find the suspect. Surveillance video is being used to try and track down the shooter who is still on the loose, according to Sheriff Marceno. The resort says it has been fully cooperative and has given detectives all their surveillance videos.
“The suspect is still out there. We ask if anyone has information to come forward with that information. But again, we have multiple witnesses and we are working multiple positive leads,” said Marceno.
A witness, Mariah Lopez, was awoken from her Lani Kai hotel room when she heard gunfire.
“We heard people screaming! It was so loud. It sounded like rioting,” says Lopez. “It was so loud. People were like, call the cops! Call the cops! So we called 911 and they said that they already had people on their way out.”
Unknown Reason for Confrontation That Turned Deadly
The two groups were on the beach past midnight and the Lani Kai resort Marketing Director Melissa Schneider said it is unknown why both groups were on the beach at that late hour.
“So we don’t know what happened for people to end out in the sand, but everything that we’ve had has been shut down for several weeks and our restaurants closed at 10,” said Schneider.
Violence at this beach is very rare and locals were stunned by the gunfire incident. The resort’s DJ has been working there for almost a decade and has never seen anything like this incident before.
“I’ve been here nine and a half years and this is the most tragic thing that I’ve ever seen here,” said DJ Garrett Mueller. “It’s really sad. I still haven’t put it all together yet. My condolences go out to the family. And the victims.”
A statement from a Lani Kai spokesperson reads:
“The news of what happened last night on the beach behind our hotel is absolutely devastating, and our family’s prayers are with the victim’s family during this very tragic time. We’re doing everything in our power to help the Lee County Sheriff’s Office with this case.”