Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, City Manager Alina Hudak and city commissioners declared a state of emergency Monday and came up with ways to mitigate spring break crowd control after two shootings occurred in the entertainment district over the weekend.
The South Beach area will be placed under a midnight curfew beginning Thursday, Hudak announced at a press conference, the Miami Herald reported. Because curfews usually only last 72 hours, she said she will ask the City Commission to extend the curfew for the following weekend.
City of Miami Beach officials have declared a state of emergency and an upcoming curfew in a bid to curb violent incidents at spring break https://t.co/1Qi98gpBVv
— KSAT 12 (@ksatnews) March 21, 2022
Hudak also said she is postponing Saturday’s spring break concert, explaining that “there are cowards out there toting guns,” the Herald reported.
Police arrested Derrick Mitchell, 19, Monday morning for being associated with a gunman who shot two women on Ocean Drive near the Avalon Hotel, CBS 4 Miami reported. Mitchell reportedly tampered with evidence and carried a concealed firearm, according to CBS 4. The primary shooter remains at large. (RELATED: One Person Killed, Over Two Dozen Injured In Car Show Shooting)
The Miami Beach spring break has gotten so out of control the city is declaring a state of emergency, the mayor says.
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) March 21, 2022
“It was just a shock to hear the gunshots and all of the commotion outside of the window,” Tamika Williams, a volleyball player in town for a tournament, said, according to CBS 4. “It was like a couple of pow, pow, pows and you heard all of the screaming and everyone saying ‘run.'”
A second shooting occurred nearby on Ocean Drive Sunday at midnight, according to CBS 4. The three people shot reportedly had non-life-threatening injuries. Surveillance footage showed hundreds of people fleeing the scene then returning moments later.
“No community, no police force, should have to suffer through this. You know I’m really tired of it, frankly, I’d love to get rid of spring break. I wish the spring breakers would go somewhere else,” Gelber told CBS 4.