Jacksonville Beach bar district shooting leaves one person dead, two wounded

One person was killed and another two were wounded when gunshots erupted in the Jacksonville Beach bar district Sunday night, according to local authorities.

Multiple suspects were still on the loose late Sunday as police warned of an active shooter situation in the Florida city, Jacksonville Police Sgt. Tonya Tator said, according to First Coast News.  

One person was shot and killed and the other two gunshot victims were in stable condition, Tator said.

The gunfire happened “out in the open” in the beachfront bar district part of the city on a popular drinking holiday, St. Patrick’s Day, during the start of the Sunshine State’s rowdy spring break season, according to cops.

“The Jacksonville Beach Police Department is currently working an active shooter incident in our downtown area,” the department posted on Facebook earlier Sunday night. “This is an active scene and we are asking everyone to shelter in place at this time.”

The shelter-in-place order was lifted at around 11 p.m. while officers remained on the scene.

It was unclear what led to the violence or how many shooters authorities were looking for.

“People got scared, you know there were a few people that were worried about getting shot,” one bar owner told News4Jax.

The police department plans on holding a press conference with more information about the shooting Monday at 8 a.m.