(HOLLYWOOD, Fla.) — Nine people, including children, were injured Monday night in a Memorial Day shooting along the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk in Florida after a dispute broke out between two groups, according to police.
One person of interest has been detained, and police are seeking an additional suspect who is still on the loose, Hollywood Police Department Public Information Manager Deanna Bettineschi said.
Four juveniles between the ages of 1 and 17 were shot, including a child between 15 and 18 months old, Bettineschi said, as well as five adults ages 25 to 65. One person is in surgery and the rest of the victims are stable at this point, she added.
Hollywood Beach Mayor Josh Levy said he was “saddened and angered” by the shooting and that “innocent bystanders” were injured as a result of the altercation between two groups.
“People come to enjoy a holiday weekend on the beach with their families, and to have people in complete reckless disregard of the safety of the public and to have an altercation with guns in the public setting with thousands of people around them is beyond reckless,” he said during a press conference.
Police are asking locals to avoid the area as the investigation continues.
Bettineschi also asked anyone who might have video or photos of the incident to send them to pdvideorequest@hollywoodfl.org.
Hollywood Beach is along Florida’s eastern coast, about 10 miles south of Fort Lauderdale and 20 miles north of Miami.
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