Police say a shooting at the annual ZombiCon gathering in Florida has left one person dead and five more injured, causing a chaotic scene that sent throngs of zombie-dressed revelers running through the streets.
The shooting happened around 11:45 p.m. Saturday night, just 15 minutes before the event officially ended. However, large crowds were still in the streets and authorities quickly cleared out nearby bars and set up crime scene tape, while others patrolled the area with rifles searching for a suspect.
Fort Myers Police Lt. Victor Medico said Expavious Tyrell Taylor, a 20-year-old who played football at a local junior college, died at the scene, but no other details about his death were released.
Four others were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and one additional victim refused medical attention, authorities said.
Authorities said the suspect is still at large and did not release any information about a possible motive.
"There were a lot of witnesses down here, there were a lot of people taking pictures, videos with their cellphone," Medico told the News-Press (http://newspr.es/1jMJamf). "Anything that could help with this investigation would be greatly appreciated."
Police did not immediately return email and phone call messages on Sunday seeking additional details.
The annual festival had been expected to draw more than 20,000 fans dressed as zombies, the newspaper said. Medico said the scene was described as "shoulder to shoulder."
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.
The organizers of Zombicon, Pushing DaiZies, Inc. are deeply saddened by the news of what happened within the footprint... Posted by ZombiCon on Saturday, October 17, 2015
ZombiCon has been a popular event for nearly a decade, but some local residents and business owners have not welcomed the crowd of costumed revelers in the street dressed as limping, bloated, degrading corpses. One restaurant posted signs warning visitors that ZombiCon participants were not welcome.
"Quarantined. No Zombies allowed," the signs read.
Several members from a religious group also picketed the event this weekend.
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Information from: The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press, http://www.news-press.com
