ZombiCon won’t be welcomed back in Fort Myers for its 10th anniversary.
On Monday night, the Fort Myers City Council decided to cancel the annual Halloween block party from being hosted in downtown Fort Myers again, following the ZombiConshooting on Oct. 17 that left one man dead and five injured.
Council members felt that ZombiCon, which drew over 20,000 people to downtown Fort myers in October, has outgrown its venue and would be better in a more controlled environment, such as an arena.
“From the bottom of our hearts we are thankful to the City of Fort Myers for the past nine years of support,” ZombiCon organizer Angeli Chin said in a statement released late Monday night. “We are completely aware that we have grown tremendously, much in part to the support of the City of Fort Myers, the downtown businesses and of course the loving participants who embraced the opportunity to express their love and passion with their flair of artistic creativity through the Dark Art Show, costume contest and spending a day with like-minded individuals.”
The shooter, who still remains at large, fired shots outside of Capone’s Coal Fired Pizza restaurant near the corners of First and Dean street.

READ: Two students injured in ZombiCon shooting, witnesses share stories

Fort Myers Police Department identified the dead man Sunday morning as Expavious Tyrell Taylor, 20, of Okeechobee. Taylor died at the scene. The shooter was spotted on a camera and is described as a white, possibly Hispanic man, in his late teens or early 20s. The shooter was seen wearing a black t-shirt and used a semi-automatic handgun to kill one and injure five others, two of whom were students at the annual event.
FBI offices in Tampa pledged $10,000 in addition to FMPD’s $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.
Crimestoppers is still asking for tips, photos or videos that could lead to the identity of the shooter.
Witnesses with information can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS(8477) and remain anonymous.
ZombiCon was founded as a street festival to celebrate George A. Romero’s 1985 film “Day of the Dead,” which features many scenes in downtown Fort Myers, as well as fundraise toward Southwest Florida art charity Pushing DaiZies.
“We will always be a part of the history of downtown, and while we will miss where we first started, we had already been in discussion about other opportunities available to the organization,” Chin said. “Once again, major thanks to Mayor Henderson, the Fort Myers Police Department, the City of Fort Myers, supporting downtown businesses and last but certainly not least, our fantastic fans and event goers.”