Miami Beach implements spring break curfew following shootings
Miami Beach is reining in spring break revelers, with city officials declaring a state of emergency on Monday and announcing a curfew for parts of the South Beach area.
This comes in the wake of two shootings over the weekend that left five people injured. During spring break, tens of thousands of people come to Miami Beach, forming a "young, party-hard crowd," Mayor Dan Gelber said. "We can't endure this anymore, we just simply can't. This isn't your father's, your mother's spring break. This is something totally different."
"We don't ask for spring break, we don't promote it, we don't encourage it, we just endure it, and frankly, it's something we don't want to endure," Gelber added.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The curfew, which runs from 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. Thursday through Monday, applies to an area of South Beach with several bars and restaurants, The New York Times reports. It will be finalized by city commissioners on Tuesday.
The shootings took place on Ocean Drive early Sunday and Monday, and are under investigation, Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements said. Since spring break visitors first started arriving in mid-February, nine officers have been injured, Clements said, and in the last three days, law enforcement officials have confiscated 37 firearms.
Miami Beach is connected to Miami via several bridges, and city manager Alina Hudak said the island cannot safely accommodate the large crowds that flock there during spring break. "We haven't been able to figure out how to stop spring break from coming," Gelber said. "We don't want spring break here, but they keep coming."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Menendez brothers may go free in LA prosecutor plan
Speed Read Prosecutors are asking for the brothers to be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Abercrombie ex-CEO charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Mike Jeffries ran the brand during its heyday from 1992 to 2014
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market guns
Speed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud
Speed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Goon Squad' cops sentenced for torturing 2 Black men
Speed Read The former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published