CNN journalist Larry Madowo has revealed he was at the Hollywood Oceanfront Broadwalk when nine people were shot on Monday, May 29, 2023.
In a tweet, Madowo says he was eating in a restaurant near the spot where the shooting incident happened.
“We were at a restaurant on the Hollywood Oceanfront Broadwalk in Florida when a shooting happened down the street. I took this picture as we ate. We could have easily been part of US gun violence statistics if we weren’t so hungry & picked the 1st spot,” Madowo wrote.
“You can never be too careful,” he added.
At least nine people were shot and injured including a one-year-old. According to reports by CNN, police believe began as an altercation between two groups in a busy area of the beach Monday.
Of the nine victims, four are minors between the ages of 1 and 17, and five are adults between the ages of 25 and 65.
Hollywood Police Department spokesperson Deanna Bettineschi said on Tuesday that two men believed to have been involved in the shooting were arrested on weapons charges.
Police have also set up a family assistance centre near Johnson Street and North Ocean Drive.
“This is an area where families can go and they can talk to the detectives on scene and ask them questions about family members, and they can also get information about their vehicles that may be inside of the crime scene,” Bettineschi said.
Five handguns have so far been recovered, two of which were stolen. Police are pursuing three more suspects believed to have been involved in the shooting.
There have been at least 262 mass shootings in the US so far this year according to the Gun Violence Archive.