Zombie Panic in Real Life Leaves 1 Dead, 5 Shot at Florida Festival
An unidentified male opened fire on a crowd of zombies in downtown Fort Myers, Florida last weekend. Only this wasn't the apocalypse -- it was ZombiCon, a walking dead-themed street festival -- and the real-life shooting took one real life and left five others injured.
Police are still hunting for the man who opened fire on the zombie crowd, as well as a motive for the shooting.
Night of the Dead Living
The shooting claimed the life of 20-year-old Expavious Tyrell Taylor, a college football player, and wounded five others. Many of the 20,000 ZombiCon attendees fled in a panic, and images from the scene were terrifying.
The festival's coordinators released a statement on their Facebook page:
"The organizers of Zombicon, Pushing DaiZies, Inc. are deeply saddened by the news of what happened within the footprint of our event. We take the safety of our patrons very seriously and take precautions in hiring security and police officers for our annual event. Our prayers go out to the family members and individuals involved in the incident."
Zombie Manhunt
Organizers also repeated law enforcement's request for any information regarding the shooting, including cell phone footage of the incident. Police Lt. Victor Medico noted there were "a lot of witnesses down here, there were a lot of people taking pictures, videos with their cellphone ... Anything that could help with this investigation would be greatly appreciated."
Police have since released videos of the shooting as well as a description of the suspect, "a white or Hispanic male in his late teens or early 20s, who fired a semi-automatic handgun into the packed crowds." It is not known whether the perpetrator's possession of the firearm falls within Florida's "Zombie Apocalypse" Bill, which allows anyone in lawful possession of a firearm to carry it in public during a state of emergency.
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Related Resources:
- Gunman sought in deadly ZombiCon shooting (USA Today)
- Why Is Kansas Preparing for a Zombie Apocalypse? (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)
- Zombie Car Crash Creates Rescue Confusion (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- Report of Woman Shot Leads to Halloween Zombie's DUI Arrest (FindLaw's Legally Weird)