FORT MYERS, Fla. — Gunfire erupted at a nightclub hosting a swimsuit-themed party for teens in Florida, leaving two dead and at least 17 wounded, officials said today.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the violence. Fort Myers police detained three people and said the area around Club Blu had been deemed safe, police Capt. Jim Mulligan said.

“While we are still learning the details about what happened this morning, we know that some of the victims of this terrible incident were children,” Gov. Rick Scott said. “We will continue to pray for the victims and their families.”

Three people remained hospitalized this morning, Cheryl Garn, a spokesman for Lee Memorial Health System, said in an e-mail. All others were treated and released. Two people brought to two other hospitals were also treated and released, Garn said.

Ages of the patients ranged from 12 to 27, Garn said.

The club is in a strip mall that includes a daycare center and is across the street from a large apartment complex. Officers had the area taped off as crime scene technicians scoured the strip mall parking lot for clues.

State records online show the alcohol license for Club Blu was revoked on June 7. The records from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation say the license was revoked because of an incident that occurred a year ago, but there were no additional details available. The same records also show that a complaint was filed in 2014 for “criminal activity” and that the club was given an official notice.

The violence at Club Blu erupted about 12:30 a.m. Mulligan said. There were two active crime scenes, police said. Several hours later a street in the area remained closed as police investigated.

Authorities said the Fort Myers police and the Lee County Sheriff's Office were “actively canvassing the area looking for other persons who may be involved in this incident.”

The names of the victims were not available.

Syreeta Gary told a TV station her daughter ran and dodged between shots. Her daughter was OK, but her daughter's friend “got hit in the leg and luckily it's just her leg,” she said.

“Her dodging bullets and running, dropping in between cars, it's ridiculous that these kids have to go through this,” Gary said. “They can't enjoy themselves because you have other people that have criminalistic minds and they just want to terrorize things.”

A post on Club Blu's Facebook page this morning said the shooting happened as the club was closing and parents were picking up their children. The post also said there was armed security.

“We are deeply sorry for all involved,” the post read. “We tried to give teens what we thought was a safe place to have a good time.”

The shooting comes more than a month after a nightclub shooting in Orlando that left 49 dead.