Nine people were injured when gunshots rang out on a boardwalk in Hollywood, Florida, on Memorial Day.
Police and several witnesses said the shooting began when a group of people got into an altercation outside a busy stretch of shops on Hollywood Oceanfront Broadwalk around 7 pm Monday.
Several youths were fighting when one pulled out a gun and started shooting.
The shooting disrupted holiday weekend activities in a location where there was already a heavy police presence.
Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy said he was “deeply saddened and angry” by the shooting. Dozens of officers are assigned to the beach over holiday weekends. That means there was an immediate response and several people were detained, Levy said in a statement.
“People come to enjoy a beach vacation weekend with their families and have people completely disregard the safety of the public, and having a gun altercation in a public place with thousands of people around is beyond reckless. “, said.
“The Hollywood Police Department will leave no stone unturned. We don’t appreciate it when people walk into our city with guns and have an altercation in the middle of a public place.”
Videos posted on Twitter show emergency medical teams responding and providing aid to injured people.
Police spokeswoman Deanna Bettineschi said four children and adolescents between the ages of 1 and 17 were injured, along with five adults between the ages of 25 and 65.
All the victims were in stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Hollywood Beach is a popular beach destination located about 17 kilometers south of Fort Lauderdale and 32 kilometers north of Miami.
