MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — After several days of problems, the city of Miami Beach said it was declaring a state of emergency and implementing a curfew starting Thursday night at 11:59 p.m. to deal with rowdy spring breakers.
“We didn’t ask for spring break and we don’t want it," Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said Monday.
According to Miami's ABC station, WPLG, "five people were injured during two shootings on Ocean Drive" as spring breakers socialized nearby on Sunday.
A video posted on social media shows a police motorcade driving slowly down the crowded street when four shots rang out. That sent dozens of young people in shorts and swimwear scrambling for cover. Officers found two people wounded and they were taken to the hospital, the Associated Press said.
A third person arrived at an emergency room with a gunshot wound. All are expected to survive.
"Four police officers were also injured while working to clear out the crowd on Ocean Drive," WPLG reported.
Miami Beach Mayor Gelber said the curfew will last through the weekend. He's planning to meet with city commissioners Tuesday to validate the curfew. Gelber said he was "frustrated and angry."
"We simply cannot have people coming to our city, having to worry about being shot," Gelber said Monday.
The curfew will remain in place from Thursday night through Monday morning at 6:01 a.m. The city said it would try to implement a curfew again on the following weekend.
Miami Beach has faced problems with rowdy crowds in the past and has implemented rules previously to deal with problems visitors to the city caused.
