Florida nightclub shooting: Two dead and more than a dozen injured

Two people have been killed and more than a dozen injured in a shooting outside a nightclub in Fort Myer, Florida.

The Club Blu Bar and Grill had been hosting an event for young teenagers when an attacker opened fire outside the venue at 12.30am local time. Shots were also reportedly fired at a home and a vehicle.

Police arrested three people in connection with the attack and declared the area around the club to be safe. Officials say up to 16 people were hurt, with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening.

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Local police said they were "actively canvassing the area looking for other persons who may be involved in this incident", Fox News reports. No motive for the attack has been given.

Eyewitness Tatianna Nouhaioi told ABC News that children as young as 13 were in the club. "It was a young teen event. There were kids. The kid I was holding in my lap, he was 14 years old that got shot," she said. "And then there was a little girl who also got shot and she was 13."

A woman told Fox 4 News her daughter was "dodging bullet and dropping between cars" outside the bar.

"I just thank God that my daughter is OK because she could have been shot," said Syreeta Gary. "It's ridiculous that these kids have to go through this. They can't enjoy themselves because you have other people there who have criminalistic minds - they just want to terrorise things."

The attack came a month after 49 people were gunned down at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in the deadliest mass shooting in US history.

Omar Marteen, who was armed with a legally held assault rifle and handgun, as well as an explosive, opened fire inside the Pulse nightclub on 12 June. The attack sparked renewed calls for stricter gun laws.