Miami Beach votes against new curfew restriction after weekend of violence
Two people were shot and killed between Friday and Sunday morning in the area.
The Miami Beach City Commission voted against extending curfew restrictions, a day after the city imposed a nighttime curfew for South Beach following several fatal shootings.
At a special committee meeting on Monday, council discussed the curfew for more than an hour, but ultimately decided not to extend the city manager’s full state of emergency, which would run from Thursday to Sunday. .
“These are very difficult times,” Mayor Dan Gelber said at the start of the meeting. “Very few cities have to deal with these issues the way we have to deal with them.”
Two people were fatally shot between Friday and Sunday morning in the area, according to the Miami Beach Police Department.
Police responded to emergency calls Friday night, finding two men dead near 7th Street and Ocean Drive, officials said.
Crowds gather at Ocean Drive and 8th Street during spring break in Miami Beach, Florida on March 18, 2023.
DA Varela/Miami Herald/TNS via Newscom
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Miami Beach police say one person was arrested and three firearms were found at the scene.
On Sunday, police responded to a shooting where they found an injured man near the 1000 block of Ocean Drive.
The unidentified man was sent to an area hospital, where he later died of his injuries, Miami Beach Police said on Twitter.
The shooting prompted Miami Beach officials to implement a curfew for South Beach beginning at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
Sunday’s restriction was the third year in a row that city officials have implemented a curfew.
Miami Beach imposed a curfew last year after several people were injured following a series of violent incidents in the area.
“We’ve been through this scene for several years in a row,” Deputy Mayor Steven Meiner said at Monday’s meeting. “It will never be okay for me to see a dead person on our street.”
ABC News’ Matt Foster contributed to this report.
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