11-year-old among 15 hurt in nightclub shooting

A shooting sent terrified patrons scrambling from a Miami nightclub early yesterday and left 15 people wounded, including an 11-year-old child, authorities said.

When Miami police and rescue crews arrived at a club called The Spot at around 1am, they said they found chaos among the large throng of adults and teenagers gathered there. Rescuers found wounded people inside and outside the club, some too hurt to flee, Miami Fire Rescue Capt Ignatius Carroll said.

He told The Associated Press that the first emergency crews arriving on the scene were warned to use caution “because there was still active shooting taking place in the area”.

One person was reported in a critical condition and the other victims remaining in the hospital were in a “stable” condition, said police spokeswoman, Frederica Burden, without elaborating. Some victims had also been released, but Burden said she did not know how many. Five girls between 11 and 17 years old also suffered gunshot wounds, Carroll said.

Ms Burden said it was not clear how many shooters were involved or what prompted the violence. Police had not made any arrests as of yesterday afternoon, and had not publicly identified any suspects.

“We’re reaching out to the community now to find out if anyone knows anything or saw anything,” Burden said.

“What was very surprising to responders was that these were kids that were out at one o’clock in the morning in a club,” she said.

“Was it a private party? Was it open to the public? That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Ms Burden added.