The emergency order was announced by Alina Hudak, City Manager of Miami Beach, and Dan Gelber, Miami Beach Mayor. The curfew applies to the South Beach area and starts at midnight on Thursday and continues through Saturday.
Hudak stated that she will recommend that the curfew be extended through the weekend.
Many thousands of young people and college students gather in Miami Beach every year for spring break. This is the second consecutive year that officials from South Florida have declared an emergency in this famous party spot.
According to the mayor, approximately 100 guns were seized in the last four weeks. Additionally, several officers who tried to control the crowds were injured.
We can't bear this anymore. Gelber stated that we simply cannot. This is not your father's or mother's spring break. This is something completely different.
Gelber pointed out that five people were killed in the shootings despite the presence of 371 officers.
Three people were injuredearly on Sunday by spring breakers in the city’s South Beach neighborhood. Two of the victims were transported to hospital with injuries, and doctors at another hospital said that a third victim arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound. All of the victims were expected to survive.
Police said that officers were walking around a block away from the Sunday morning shooting scene when they heard gunshots Monday morning. Two women were found with gunshot wounds by officers. The police said that their injuries weren't life-threatening.
Some residents urged city officials to take action against the unruly behavior of South Beach residents in recent years. However, there have been complaints about racism and classism as a result of efforts to curb violence and excessive drinking.
Last March saw more than 1,000 people arrested after the city implemented an 8 p.m. curfew. The authorities used military-style vehicles to disperse the predominantly Black crowd with rubber bullets. This was criticized by Black activists.
