Florida shooting: Two teenagers killed in Fort Myers nightclub attack identified

Stefan Strawder, 18, and Sean Archilles, 14 were fatally injured

Stefan Strawder was a star basketball player at his high school (Facebook)

The two victims in a deadly shooting in a Florida nightclub have been identified.

Fourteen-year-old Sean Archilles and 18-year-old Stef'an Strawder have been named by police as the two teenagers who were killed in the shooting, which saw more than a dozen other people injured.

Teenagers ran to dodge bullets being fired outside Clu Blu in Fort Myers, Florida, which was hosting a "swimsuit glow party".

The shooting happened just over one month after the neighbouring city of Orlando was witness to the worst shooting in modern US history, when a lone gunman killed 49 people.

Stef'an has been described on social media as a promising basketball player and "always smiling" at Lehigh Senior High School.

His cousin, Bre’anna Jones, said on Facebook: “My heart is broken…I’m not ready to say goodbye.”

His basketball coach, Guy Hensley, also posted a tribute on twitter, describing the death as “every coach’s nightmare”.

Earlier that evening, Stef'an has asked his friends on Facebook who was going with him to the party at the nightclub.

The other victim was 14-year-old Sean Archilles, who had a twin brother.

Sean lived about a mile from the nightclub, said his father, Jean Archilles. Mr Archilles said his son loved to play football and basketball.

“He liked to make people laugh. He's a funny kid. He's always joking,” Jean Archilles said.

The two victims were among the 16 youths, aged between 12 and 27, who were injured just after midnight when parents arrived to pick up their children.

Four people were in the hospital. Two were in critical condition and two in fair condition, Lee Memorial Health System CEO Lisa Sgarlata said at a news conference. All of the other patients were treated and released.

Syreeta Gary told WFTX-TV her daughter ran to avoid being shot. Her daughter was alright, but her daughter's friend “got hit in the leg and luckily it's just her leg,” she said.

“Her dodging bullets and running, dropping in between cars, it's ridiculous that these kids have to go through this,” Ms Gary said. “They can't enjoy themselves because you have other people that have criminalistic minds.”

Florida governor Rick Scott, who will visit Fort Myers, said in a statement that he will offer any assistance from the state.

“While we are still learning the details about what happened this morning, we know that some of the victims of this terrible incident were children,” he said.

The club said in a Facebook post that it was “deeply sorry” for the “despicable act”.

“We tried to give teens what we thought was a safe place to have a good time," it read.

Armed security at the club, which lost its liquor license in June, was reportedly present in and outside the club when the shooting broke out.

Police have arrested three people in relation to the shooting but are yet to establish a motive. They said in a statement that the incident was not an "act of terror".

The last mass shooting in Fort Myers took place on 17 October 2015, when one person was killed and six others were injured when guns were fired during a Halloween-themed event called ZombiCon.