On Monday, Miami Beach officials declared a state of emergency and announced an impending curfew in an effort to reduce violent occurrences during spring break, which left five people injured in two separate shooting incidents.
According to The Associated Press, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber and City Manager Alina Hudak declared the emergency order at a news conference. It does include a curfew for the South Beach area that begins early Thursday after midnight and lasts through the weekend.
The city commission will hold an emergency session Tuesday to clarify the declaration, and Hudak said she plans to suggest that the curfew be prolonged through the next weekend.
Thousands of young students gather in Miami Beach each year for spring break, and this is the second year in a row that authorities in the South Florida city have decided to declare a state of emergency in this nightclubbing hotspot, according to the Associated Press.
The mayor says that over the past four weeks, about 100 guns have been seized and several police officers have been injured while attempting to control the crowds.
“We can’t endure this anymore. We just simply can’t,” Gelber insisted. “This isn’t your father or your mother’s spring break. This is something wholly different.”
Gelber noted that 5 people were shot over the weekend, despite 371 officers being in the area.
Source: AP
