What Better Way To Honor MLK Day Than With A Mass Shooting In Florida

Eight people were shot at a crowded Martin Luther King Jr. Day event in Fort Pierce, Florida, authorities said Monday night.

All eight adult victims were brought to a hospital, including one person who is in critical condition, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brian Hester said.

At least four others were injured in the melee that followed the shooting, according to the sheriff’s office.

More than a thousand people were gathered at a block party in Ilous Ellis Park when shots began ringing out around 5:20 p.m., Hester said.

The community was celebrating a Martin Luther King Jr. Day car show and “family fun day,” according to the city’s website.

“As the shots rang out, people were just running in all directions,” Hester said. “As our deputies were arriving and entering the scene… it was mass chaos there. There were people laying behind cars, laying behind anything they could lay behind. It was kind of hard to tell who was a victim and who was just hiding at that point.”