Two teenagers, aged 14 and 18, were killed and at least 17 others wounded in a mass shooting at a Florida nightclub, say police.

The attack took place in the early hours of Monday as Club Blu in Fort Myers held a 'teen night' at the venue, with some at the event as young as 13.

One witness said she heard around 30 gunshots from the scene and believes they came from a number of weapons.

Image: Police have marked where dozens of shots were fired

Three people have been detained and police ruled out terrorism as the motive for the shooting.

The victims were named as Stef'An Strawder, an 18-year-old high school basketball star, and 14-year-old Sean Archilles.


Stef'An Strawder was shot in the shoulder, his mother said, and his 19-year-old sister survived a gunshot wound in the leg.

Image: Timothy Settles posted this on Facebook from hospital, saying he did not want to die

The nightclub said on its Facebook page the shooting happened as it was closing and parents were picking up their children.

"We tried to give the teens what we thought was a safe place to have a good time," the statement said, pointing out that armed security guards were posted inside and outside the club.

"It was not kids at the party that did this despicable act."

Syreeta Gary's daughter was at the club when the attack happened.

Speaking on a Twitter video, she said: "Well, I just thank God that my daughter is okay. She could have been shot. She was dodging bullets and dropping between cars.

"It is ridiculous that kids have to go through this and they cannot enjoy themselves because you have people with criminalistic minds who want to terrorise people."

Image: A bullet casing found outside the club

At least 20 police officers attended the scene and roads in the area were sealed off.

A police statement said: "The Fort Myers Police Department and Lee County Sheriff's Office are actively canvassing the area looking for other persons who may be involved in this incident.

"At this time the scene is still very active as investigators and crime scene personnel attempt to determine what occurred."

The mass shooting comes more than a month after an attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in Florida. Forty nine people were killed on 12 June, and another 53 were wounded.