Miami Beach authorities mandate an emergency curfew amid the recent shooting violence in spring break.
The City of Miami is set to declare a state of emergency, as well as a curfew, amid recent violence and hospitalizations during the ongoing 2022 spring break. The order was to reduce violent incidents at spring break that saw five people wounded in two separate shootings.
Dan Gelber, the city’s mayor, announced the emergency order on Monday at an afternoon joint news conference with police and other local officials.
Alina Hudak, the city manager who signed the order said: “The midnight curfew will begin on Thursday at 12:00 am and remain in effect until 6:00 am on March 28.”
Rowdy tourists have created an unreasonable atmosphere of fear in the city, Mayor Gelber said Monday in a joint press conference with police and other local officials. He said he couldn’t allow people to come to the city only to worry about being shot.
Mayor Gelber said: “I know this might be happening all over the country, as I’ve seen on some national reports, but frankly that doesn’t make anybody feel better right here. Because this is our city and we cannot allow it to descend into this kind of chaos and disorder.”
According to NBC South Florida, five bystanders were hospitalized as a result of two random shootings over the weekend. The move from the Miami authorities comes as a means to control unruly crowds of tourists coming to attend spring break after two separate shootings.
Mr. Gelber said that tourists had created an “unacceptable” atmosphere across the city with about 100 guns seized over the past four weeks, and several police officers injured while controlling the crowds.
Mayor Gelber said: “It’s simply unacceptable at every level. We simply cannot endure this anymore. We just simply can’t. This isn’t your father or your mother’s spring break. This is something wholly different.”
The mayor said the city does not “want spring break here” and the strict measures are a way to push back against the reputation that Miami Beach is a “24-hour party city”.
Thousands of college students and other young people gather annually in Miami Beach for spring break, and this is the second year in a row that officials for the South Florida city have declared a state of emergency tied to surges in visitors.
Last year, the authorities announced an 8:00 pm curfew for the city to control crowds and potential Covid-19 outbreaks. More than 1,000 people were arrested last March during that period for violation of curbs. Several incidents of violence and brawls were still reported.
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