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[h=4]Bedlam, death rock Florida ZombiCon fest[/h]One person was killed and four were wounded during a shooting late Saturday night at Zombicon in downtown Fort Myers, police said.
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One person was killed and four others were hurt when gunfire erupted during ZombiCon festivities in Fort Myers, Florida. VPC
Emergency medical workers and police work next to an injured person at the scene of a shooting Saturday at ZombiCon in Fort Myers, Fla.(Photo: Melissa Montoya, The News-Press via AP)
FORY MYERS, Fla.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— <span style="color: Red;">*</span>A manhunt was underway Sunday after a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>shooting rampage at a zombie-themed festival left one person dead, four wounded and pandemomium on downtown streets.
The four wounded victims at ZombiCon on Saturday night were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, according to police Lt. Victor Medico.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ZombiCon,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>an annual event in its ninth<span style="color: Red;">*</span>year, was expected to draw<span style="color: Red;">*</span>more than<span style="color: Red;">*</span>20,000 people.
There were "a lot of witnesses down here, there were a lot of people taking pictures, videos with their cellphone," Medico said. "Anything that could help with this investigation would be greatly appreciated."
The shots began at 11:45 p.m., he said. Chaos reigned as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>crowds from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ZombiCon raced<span style="color: Red;">*</span>through De Leon Plaza.
"We didn't know if it was real or fake,"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Haley Delmonte<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of Naples<span style="color: Red;">*</span>told WBBH-TV. "Heard gunshots right in front of me. Saw people running and my mind was everywhere. It was so scary. We ran, then we were like wait... was that real?"
Pushing DaiZies, Inc., organizers of the event, published a statement on Facebook expressing sadness for "what happened within the footprint" of their festival.
"We take the safety of our patrons very seriously and take precautions in hiring security and police officers," the statement said.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Our prayers go out to the family members and individuals involved in the incident."
Skye Tobias commented on the post, saying she was near the gunfire.
"Heard gunshots right in front of me," Tobias said.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Saw people running and my mind was everywhere. It was so scary."
Some patrons of the event questioned the security measures.
"They patted me down and weren't going to let me bring fake handcuffs in but they let some guy walk in with a gun?! Just stupid," commented<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Joelle Faith Filippone-Greaves.
Minutes after the shooting, police strung crime scene tape across the entrance to the plaza and started clearing bars and downtown streets.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Officers with<span style="color: Red;">*</span>rifles patrolled the streets around the crime scene and ordered people milling around to clear the area.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office set up a command center nearby and deputies assisted Fort Myers police officers in dispersing the ZombiCon crowd.
Bacon reported from McLean, Va.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>?Contributing: Michael Braun,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press
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People fleeing after multiple people were shot Saturday night at Zombicon in downtown Fort Myers. Ben Brasch/news-press.com
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