Panic at Zombie Fest as Gunfire Kills One, Injures 4

Florida police are seeking public's help in finding shooter at Fort Myers' ZombiCon
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 18, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

A Florida festival celebrating the undead turned into a real-life nightmare Saturday night after a shooting left one person dead at the scene and four injured, CNN reports. As the four injured were whisked to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, police in Fort Myers began searching for a still-at-large suspect, as well as witnesses who may have seen what happened at the ZombiCon street festival, an annual event said to have attracted around 20,000, per WTFX. "The organizers of [ZombiCon] … are deeply saddened by the news of what happened within the footprint of our event," reads a Sunday morning post on the event's Facebook page, which describes the fest as "the largest gathering of Zombies and those who love them, in the state of Florida, and possibly the world!" "We take the safety of our patrons very seriously and take precautions in hiring security and police officers for our annual event. Our prayers go out to the family members and individuals involved."

Details are still forthcoming, but Lt. Victor Medico of the Fort Myers Police Department tells the News-Press that shots started ringing out at 11:44pm, resulting in a truly scary scene as festivalgoers ran through the streets and police officers patrolled the streets with rifles. "Chaos. Cops demanding people evacuate downtown Fort Myers. People milling about in disbelief," tweeted News-Press reporter Ben Brasch shortly after midnight. "I heard four gun shots and saw the crowd 10 feet in front of me part, and everyone turn and start running," a student at Fort Myers' Florida Gulf State University tells NBC News. Medico says police are searching for anyone who may have seen something that can help lead to an arrest. "There was a lot of witnesses down here, there were a lot of people taking pictures, videos with their cellphone," he tells the paper. "Anything that could help with this investigation would be greatly appreciated." (More shooting stories.)

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