Source: EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI / Getty
Over the past weekend, Miami Beach reportedly saw two shootings within two days that left two people dead, and because of that, along with instances of “excessively large and unruly crowds,” city officials have declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew to be enacted during spring break.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said in a recorded message to citizens of Miami Beach that guns and rowdy crowds have “created a peril that cannot go unchecked.”
“We don’t ask for spring break in our city. We don’t want spring break in our city. It’s too rowdy, it’s too much disorder and it’s too difficult to police,” Gelber said.
Obviously, demanding no spring break activities in Miami Beach is like telling people to lay off the slot machines when they visit Las Vegas, but officials insist it’s necessary given recent events.
From CBS News:
The city said in a news release the curfew would be from 11:59 p.m. Sunday until 6 a.m. Monday, with an additional curfew likely to be put in place Thursday through next Monday, March 27. The curfew mainly affects South Beach, the most popular party location for spring breakers.
The release said the two separate shootings Friday night and early Sunday that left two people dead and “excessively large and unruly crowds” led to the decision. The city commission plans a meeting Monday to discuss potential further restrictions next week.
Gelber noted that the meeting about next weekend’s potential curfew would have to wait until next week because the “manager’s emergency powers are limited to only 72 hours.”
For a few details on the most recent shooting that prompted the curfew, here’s more from CBS:
Police said the suspect, “without any provocation,” shot the victim multiple times. The victim died after being rushed to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. A second person was hurt, but treated at the scene and released, police said on Twitter.
The suspect, identified as Dontavious Polk, fled on foot and dropped a gun while being chased by a police officer, according to the arrest report. Police recovered that gun, which they claim had been stolen, and arrested the suspect after officers tackled him a few blocks away, the report said.
After he was arrested, the suspect was taken to Ryder Trauma Center for what police described as a “pre-existing gunshot wound.” He was later discharged and taken to Turner Gilford Knight Correctional Center, police records showed.
Polk is facing a first degree murder charge, according to police records, although no charges had been officially filed as of Sunday night.
Enjoy your spring break, but be careful out there, good people. In Miami Beach, or wherever you are, stay safe. It’s wild out here.
