ZombiCon rejected from downtown Fort Myers

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FORT MYERS, Fla.- The City of Fort Myers has cut ties with ZombiCon for 2016, just two months after a deadly shooting.

City leaders say the decision was made solely because of the shooting, but many other factors were also at play.

Councilman Mike Flanders led the discussion Monday night, saying ZombiCon has outgrown downtown Fort Myers.

“Thousands of people wearing costumes, hiding their identity, carrying fake weapons and wearing makeup,” said Flanders.

“Some retailers and some restaurants will not even open because they want to protect their store from patrons wearing messy attire and concealing makeup and concealing their identity,” said Flanders.

In October, a shooter fired in to a crowd killing one person, injuring six others, then quickly escaping.

The shooting started the conversation of the events safety and how to better manage security.
But Councilwoman Terolyn Watson doesn’t want to see the event moved.

“We have people in the city that really look forward to having ZombiCon downtown,” she said.

Mayor Randy Henderson wants to be clear that rejecting the event next year is not just because of the shooting and the city is not placing blame on the organizers.

“This is not a move to lay blame on the tragedy of that night. We are not blaming the organizers of ZombiCon. We are not blaming anybody,” said Henderson.

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