Fort Lauderdale gunman is shot dead after wounding cop and barricading himself inside a Holiday Inn in standoff

A Fort Lauderdale gunman has been shot dead by police after he wounded a cop during a standoff at a Holiday Inn Express.

The street around the hotel on 17th St & SE 15th Ave was shut down by authorities on Thursday morning as the standoff developed at the Holiday Inn Express Fort Lauderdale Cruise Airport.

The injured officer was taken to Broward Health Medical Center and is in stable condition, as reported by NBC6. 

Witnesses told the local outlet that shots were fired inside the hotel before police swarmed the parking lot.

A Crisis Negotiations Team vehicle was seen on the scene.

A Fort Lauderdale cop has been shot during a standoff in the area of of a Holiday Inn Express

The street around the hotel on 17th St & SE 15th Ave has been shut down by authorities

The shooting appears to have started on the pool deck above the parking garage

'We’re moving down here. We were waking up to have breakfast at the hotel, and staff pushed everyone into an event room,' hotel guest Alexis Boettcher told the Sun Sentinel.

'I came downstairs. They told me there was an active shooter and I couldn’t go back in the building.'

The shooting appears to have started on the pool deck above the parking garage. 

The standoff comes as Fort Lauderdale is filled with tourists from all over the country during Spring Break - as it was declared the new 'Miami' after a midnight curfew was enacted in South Beach.

Three nightclubs - M2, Mynt Lounge, and Exchanged - lost their bid to have the curfew overturned, with Judge David C. Miller denying their request on Saturday.

The court battle comes after officials in Miami announced plans earlier this year to bring about tougher restrictions after two deadly shootings last year.

The tightening has resulted in the students ditching Ocean Drive for the seafront just twenty miles away in Fort Lauderdale – with the strip of bars welcoming the boom in business.