Florida gang-related shooting at Martin Luther King Jr. Day event leaves woman dead, seven others wounded

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Florida shooting on MLK Day

Multiple people wounded in Florida shooting on MLK Day (Courtesy: WPTV)

A shooting between two rival gangs at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event on Monday evening in Fort Pierce, Florida, left one woman dead and seven others wounded, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara. 

"I’m here to sadly report that one of those victims died this morning at Longwood Hospital," Mascara said Tuesday. "She’s a 30-year-old Fort Pierce native who was at the party with her 6-year-old daughter, and now what was a shooting investigation has turned into a murder investigation."

The shooting broke out around 5:20 p.m. near Ilous Ellis Park following a "disagreement of some sort" between the two gangs, according to the sheriff. 

An "MLK Car Show & Family Fun Day" was being held at that park from noon to 6 p.m., according to the City of Fort Pierce. 

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St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Deputies were investigating the shooting on Monday evening. (WPTV)

Four people were also injured as they scrambled for cover during the shooting. 

"It was mass chaos, as you can imagine, when shots rang out. There were 1,000-plus people here at the event," Chief Deputy Brian Hester said at a press conference. "And as the shots rang out, people were just running in all directions."

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One of the gunshot victims is in critical condition, according to the sheriff's office. Four people were also injured as they were fleeing the scene. (WPTV)

Two deputies who were stationed at the park immediately starting providing aid to gunshot victims. 

"It's kind of hard to tell who was a victim and who was just hiding at that point as our deputies did start to render aid to multiple people," Hester said. "There were people in the crowd that were rendering aid as well. And then there were some people that were loading people up in cars and taking them to the hospital as well."

Videos posted on social media showed large crowds enjoying the event before multiple gunshots rang out in the distance, sending people scrambling behind cars. (WPTV)

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More than 50 shell casings were recovered from three different calibers of firearms. No suspects are in custody. 

"If you are thinking of, or are hiding supporting, protecting, aiding, helping in any way any suspect, anyone involved in this heinous incident, then I can assure that we will arrest you and charge you to the fullest extent of the law," Hester said.