Man hospitalized after fight leads to shooting in downtown Fort Myers

A Saturday night in downtown Fort Myers went very wrong after a man was shot outside the Lucky Screw following an argument.

According to the Fort Myers Police Department, the shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. The manager of Cabo’s says the victim was on his way home from a shift before the shooting. He was taken to the hospital afterward.

Nearby witnesses say there was violence leading up to the gunfire. Zachary Gray Kelly says he saw two different groups of men on bikes fighting with each other beforehand.

“It was kind of weird to see whose shot was fired,” Kelly said. “But somebody dropped the gun—they threw it out on the street. Somebody went to grab it, and they kicked it away.”

“There was a bunch of guys, like, you know, tussling on each other, and next thing you know, I’ve seen… heard like a pop, and I’ve been down, and then I look over, and the guy’s like, ‘I’m alright,’ I’m like, ‘No, you’re not, he’s just shot you,'” said an unnamed witness.

“I feel like… the stories are told to me that it’s pretty ordinary… people get shot up at clubs down here often,” Kelly said. “Before you knew it, everybody was running in the opposite direction.”

Michael Parnaselli and Bob Weiss often vacation in Fort Myers from up north.

“The fact that you can’t be out in a place like this, and it’s so historic… it looks like they’ve revitalized quite a bit, and if you’ve got to worry about this, you know, what’s the point?” Parnaselli said. “One event doesn’t mean that the whole town is in trouble, but sounds like there’s been a bit of a pattern of these. And I think the sooner they get their arms around it, the better.”

“The world is getting more dangerous,” Weiss said. “You just have to be aware of your surroundings these days.”

If you were a witness or have any other information about what happened, contact FMPD at (239) 321-7700 or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-8477.