The City of Miami is set to declare a state of emergency, as well as a curfew, amid recent violence and hospitalisations during the ongoing 2022 spring break.
This move comes after five people were hospitalised following two separate shootings that took place during the spring break weekend last week in Miami Beach, NBC Miami reports.
Mayor Dan Gelber, city commissioners, City Manager Alina T. Hudak and Police Chief Richard Clements are set to address the violence in a news conference along with how they plan on controlling crowds as the spring break period continues.
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Gelber said of the violence: "Our city is past its endpoint. We can't endure this anymore. We just simply cannot have people come to our city and have to worry about being shot. That's not a way a city can operate."
On Sunday morning, 20 March, three people were hospitalised after a shooting just after midnight along Ocean Drive near 8th Street. Miami Beach Police said officers then arrived in the 700 block of Ocean Drive after reports of gunfire in the area around 1am on 21 March.
Police found two women suffering from gunshot wounds in the area. One of the women, who was not identified, was transported to Ryder Trauma Center with non life-threatening injuries. The second victim, who was also not identified, was treated for a graze wound and transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
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One-hundred guns have also been seized over the past four weeks, including 37 firearms over the past three days, Police Chief Rick Clements confirmed.
Sadly, violence is no stranger to the spring break season – especially in Miami and Florida. Last month, it was announced that Miami Beach will ban alcohol sales in the early hours between 7 March and 21 March in an attempt to curb the number of arrests and gun seizures that last year's spring break saw.
On 20 March 2021, Miami Beach imposed an 8pm curfew after multiple violent incidents involving drunk revellers, including one in which 'a crowd of hundreds of people had formed a mob and began to use tables and chairs as weapons', said Clements.
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If you have any information, you are asked to contact police or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
Emily Puckering