July 25, 2016

Fort Myers Shooting Kills 2 People Outside Nightclub

The injured victims were aged between 12 and 27.

WBBH/AP

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Update, 1:20 p.m. EST: Officials have identified the two victims who were killed as 14-year-old Sean Archilles and 18-year-old Stef’an Strawder.

A shooting outside a nightclub in Fort Myers, Florida killed at least two people and injured more than a dozen others early on Monday morning. The victims were mostly students, aged between 12 and 27.

“The scene is still very active as investigators and crime scene personnel attempt to determine what had occurred,” Fort Myers Police Captain Jim Mulligan said. “The Police Department is attempting to determine a motive for this incident.”

The shooting took place around 12:30 a.m. in the parking lot of Club Blu Bar and Grill, where nightclub organizers had hosted an event for teenagers. Gunfire reportedly broke out as the teenagers were departing and parents had come to pick them up. The shooting comes six weeks after the Orlando mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub that killed 49 people and injured more than 50.

Police have detained three people for questioning. Later today, Florida Gov. Rick Scott will be traveling to the city to meet with law enforcement officials.

 

We are deeply sorry for all involved. We tried to give the teens WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS A SAFE PLACE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME….

Posted by Club Blu on Monday, July 25, 2016

 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

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