Eight people are shot at Martin Luther King Day event in Florida: Disturbing video shows aftermath with one victim in critical condition – and gunman still on the run
- Eight people were shot after a disagreement at an MLK day event in Florida
- The shooting happened during a family-friendly car meet in a park in Fort Pierce
- Video shows chaos after the shooting as adults in children scatter in terror
- All eight were adults and one person was in critical condition on Monday night
- Four others were injured trying to flee the scene, including one child
- The shooter(s) fled and remain on the loose but deputies said they have leads
Eight people were shot during a family-friendly MLK day event in Florida on Monday evening, leaving one person critically injured.
Gunfire broke out soon after 5pm triggering a chaotic frenzy that allowed the shooter to escape. They remained on the loose on Monday night and it is not yet known if more than one person fired.
The car show was being hosted in a park in Fort Pierce and was attended by more than 1,000 people of all ages, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said. All eight people shot were adults.
The incident occurred at Ilous Ellis Park – near to Ave. M and 13th St – at 5.20pm and was triggered by some sort of disagreement, the sheriff’s office said.
Eight people were shot during a family-friendly MLK day car show in Florida on Monday evening, leaving one person critically injured
As panicked parade-goers attempted to flee after the shots rang out, four others suffered injuries, including one child.
A video captured the aftermath of the shooting, with panicked crowds of adults and children running between parked cars and trucks.
One man can even be seen holding a pistol as he looks across the car park and hides partially behind a pick up truck.
Another man was seen lying on the ground surrounded by a number of people offering him help and seemingly trying to locate his wound by removing his shirt.
‘Multiple people were shot. It sounds like, from our initial investigation here on scene, there was a disagreement of some sort between two parties, and unfortunately they chose to resolve that with guns,’ St. Lucie County Chief Deputy Brian Hester told News4JAX.
‘It was mass chaos, as you can imagine,’ he said. ‘There were a thousand plus people here at the event, and as the shots rang out, people were just running in all directions.’
One man (pictured) can be seen holding a pistol as he looks across the car park and hides partially behind a pick up truck
It is not known if more than one person fired and there have been no arrests as yet
Gunfire broke out soon after 5pm, triggering a chaotic frenzy, allowing the gunman to escape
The incident occurred at Ilous Ellis Park – near to Ave. M and 13th St in Fort Pierce
In footage captured moments after the shooting, a woman can see running in panic with her baby
As people scattered in various directions some were seen hiding behind cars, and a woman ran in panic with a baby in her arms.
The sheriff’s office said two deputies were at the event already and were able to help victims in need of medical assistance.
‘It’s really sad in a celebration of someone who represented peace and equality that a disagreement results in a use of guns and violence to solve that disagreement, and that’s what’s really sad to me about what happened here,’ Hester said.
‘And then so many innocent people who were injured or hurt and were not part of the disagreement as well.’
The Sheriff’s office said it had multiple leads. Dozens of deputies in the area were working to find a shooter or shooters.
More than 1,000 were attending the family-friendly car meet, the sheriff’s office said
The sheriff’s office said two deputies were at the event already and were able to help victims in need of medical assistance