The final hours of Memorial Day weekend quickly turned to horror for hundreds on Hollywood Beach in South Florida, where nine people—some feared to be bystanders—were shot on a boardwalk after a fight broke out between two groups.
Archived footage from a 24/7 boardwalk camera showed the beach erupt into a frenzy on Monday as shots rang out just after 6:30 p.m.—with panicked people, including children, trying to avoid slipping as they sprinted away in terror.
The shooting spurred from a “dispute between two groups,” said Deanna Bettineschi, a spokesperson for the Hollywood Police Department. Cops have not said what the identities of those involved are, nor have they released the conditions of victims.
Bettineschi said a person of interest was taken into custody and a second is on the run, but declined to name the duo.
Bettineschi said victims were taken to the nearby Memorial Regional Hospital and to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital—suggesting some victims may be children. Yanet Obarrio Sanchez, a spokesperson for Memorial, told NBC6 that a “couple of minors” were being treated.
Josh Levy, the mayor of Hollywood, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that people may have “gotten caught in the crossfire” of a shooting. He added that victims were rushed to a hospital.
People claiming to be witnesses posted online that shots were fired outside Nicks Bar & Grill—a popular restaurant that’s attached to the Hollywood Beach boardwalk in Broward County.
Calls to the business, Mayor Levy and to the Hollywood Police Department went unanswered Monday night. A spokesperson for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office told The Daily Beast it was aware of an incident at Hollywood Beach but said it wasn’t the primary responding agency, so information would be released elsewhere.
“Thank you to the good samaritans, paramedics, police and emergency room doctors and nurses for their immediate response to aid the victims of today’s shooting,” Levy wrote later Monday.
This is a developing breaking news story and will be updated.
