Demetrius O’Neal was convicted Friday of two counts of second degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder for his role in the Club Blu mass shooting in Fort Myers on July 25, 2016.

In that incident an 18-year-old and a 14-year-old were shot to death outside of Club Blu, 14 others were injured. The jury returned the guilty verdict Friday afternoon, in a trial that began October 7, in a Lee County court.

The shooting at the former club off Evans Avenue happened on what was supposed to be a fun teen night. Instead, children were pushed into a maelstrom of multiple gunshots moments after they left the club when it closed. One witness said they heard about 100 shots fired.

Another witness, who made a call to 911 from the scene, can be heard helping children, guiding them into a freezer, in an attempt to save their lives, as she described children laying in the parking lot, after being shot.

One of those killed in the shooting was 18-year-old Stef’An Strawder. The other fatal shooting victim was 14-year-old Sean Archilles.

Strawder was about to begin his senior year at Lehigh Senior High School and had aspired to play Division I college basketball.

The case dragged on for nearly 10 years, much of the time with few leads in the case. In December 2020 five people in connection with the were arrested.

Through a collaborative effort involving the FMPD, the FBI and the U.S. Marshal's Service, arrest warrants were served in a span of just 15 minutes on O’Neal, as well as Derrick Leon Church, Tajze Akir Battle, Kierra Kashayla Russ, and Don Dontrill Loggins and all were taken into custody.

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