Two people were killed and another woman was injured in what the sheriff's department called a "targeted shootout" Tuesday night at Bell Tower Shops.

A witness stated that she was celebrating her birthday before the shooting started around 22 hours.

Sheriff Carmine Marceno identified the men killed as Kevin Robinson, 56, and Javarcia Riggins, 22. Robinson used to work for the city of Fort Myers.

A woman has also been affected and is in critical condition. Another man was also wounded by the glass, but was not killed. At first we were told that four people had been shot, but the sheriff's office corrected that number to three.

One woman said that she was at the steeple to celebrate her birthday that night, when, at some point, someone came to see her family and shot her husband.

The woman's son then tried to run before the gunman shot him. He also killed him.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office said the shooter and the victims knew each other, describing it as a "targeted shooting". The shooter has escaped.

The police closed the entire shopping center while a large investigation was opened.

Witnesses described the shot as a firework display.

"It was really scary, there were two corpses, they had already covered them and there were like 10 police cars and EMT, "said Denise Mazzitti, a witness.

A group gathered at Lee Memorial Hospital following the shooting on Tuesday night. A handful of these people stayed in the parking lot of the emergency room until the early hours of Wednesday morning.

They said that they were there for a family member operated on.

The group held hands in prayer while comforting themselves all night long.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Lee County Sheriff's Office. You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-8477.

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