A state of emergency and a curfew have been implemented in Miami Beach, Florida, after two separate shootings left five people injured this weekend as reckless spring breakers swarming to the popular party spot.
‘We didn’t ask for spring break and we don’t want it,’ Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said Monday.
‘Our city is well past its endpoint. We can’t endure this anymore,’ he added.
Thousands of college students and young people take to Miami Beach each year for spring break, something officials in South Florida are not very fond of as it results in chaos and violence.
The emergency order and curfew will start early Thursday and extend to Monday morning, reported.
Officials said they plan to reinstate the curfew next weekend as well.
Since the start of spring break, at least five people have been shot on Ocean Drive. Three people were shot early Sunday morning. The three victims were found wounded on a street crowded with spring breakers in the city’s South Beach neighborhood.
Two people wounded at the scene were taken to a hospital, while doctors at a separate hospital reported a third person arrived with a gunshot wound. All three of the victims are expected to survive.
The second shooting took place early Monday morning around 1am. Officers were patrolling the area and heard gunshots. Officers found two women with gunshot wounds. Their injuries were not life threatening, according to police.
Over the weekend there were 371 police officers deployed in the city, according to Gelber.
The Miami Beach Fraternal Order of Police expressed their frustration over the chaos and police injuries in a tweet on Sunday.
‘Officers are EXHAUSTED. The party needs to end. City officials must take immediate and firm action to ensure the safety of officers and residents,’ the tweet said.
Nine area police officers have also been hurt during the vacation period, though none of the injuries were serious and none of the officers were shot.
Over the past few weeks over 100 guns have been confiscated by police.
Last March, over 1,000 people were arrested when the city imposed a 8pm curfew.
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