Florida police are encouraging people to stay away from an area of Hollywood Beach after an apparent shooting sent the crowded area into chaos, with one Live feed of the boardwalk shows a large crowd take off and sprint when there is a gunshot.
There are few details about the shooting, which appears to have broken out around 7 p.m. on Monday, in the final hours of Memorial Day weekend. It’s unclear how many people — if any — were hit, or what the shooter’s possible motive was. Police are expected to provide the first update on Monday night.
Josh Levy, mayor of Hollywood, told South Florida Sun Sentinel that people may have been “caught in the crossfire” of a shooting, suggesting the chaos could have stemmed from a targeted attack. He added that the victims were taken to hospital, but did not specify how many.
Self-proclaimed eyewitnesses posted online that shots were fired outside Nicks Bar & Grill—a popular restaurant attached to the Hollywood Beach boardwalk in Broward County.
Calls to the business and the Hollywood Police Department went unanswered Monday night. A spokesman for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office told The Daily Beast they were aware of an incident in Hollywood Beach but said they were not the primary responder, so the information will be released where other.
hollywood police wrote on Twitter“Please avoid the area on Hollywood Beach, from Johnson to Garfield Street and the Hollywood Beach Boardwalk as police are investigating.”
It added that there was an “ongoing shooting investigation,” in a later tweet, describing a “heavy police presence in the area.”
This is a breaking news story that is developing and will be updated.
