[imagesource: Chandan Khanna / AFP / Getty Images]
When a city has to declare a state of emergency, that’s when you know that the party has become far too rowdy and out of hand.
When the city is forced to declare a state of emergency for the second year in a row, that’s when you know that the party should be well and truly over.
This year’s Spring Break at Miami Beach has already seen violence spread through the city as crowds broke out into brawls and two random shootings occurred in separate areas over the weekend.
NBC News reported that Mayor Dan Gelber said on Monday that unruly partygoers and tourists have created an “unacceptable” atmosphere of fear in the city:
“I know this might be happening all over the country, as I’ve seen on some national reports, but frankly that doesn’t make anybody feel better right here,” Gelber said.
“Because this is our city, and we cannot allow it to descend into this kind of chaos and disorder.”
Watch the crowds scatter as the gunshots reverberate through the street:
South Beach Spring Break — 3 people shot Saturday night on Ocean Drive and Eighth Street. Video shows people running for safety as you hear the gun go off. Courtesy: Miami Beach Voters / David Hundley pic.twitter.com/ynNyZtTumR
— Parker Branton (@ParkerBranton) March 20, 2022
Zoom in, and you’ll find multiple fights breaking out:
Posted on social media, a brawl breaks out on 10th street last night during Spring Break Miami Beach 2022. pic.twitter.com/g0WlfLG0Pu
— South Beach News (@sobenews) March 20, 2022
Welcome to Spring Break Miami LADIES AND GENTLEMEN 😅#springbreak2022 #springbreakmiami pic.twitter.com/cf7NjRzuRY
— Bruce Gleece (@mainmanmook) March 18, 2022
This past weekend’s shootings are reported to have left five people injured and hospitalised:
Police said they found two women with non-life-threatening injuries after they responded to reports of gunshots around 1 a.m. Monday. Three other people were injured Sunday morning in a shooting on Ocean Drive near 8th Street, NBC Miami reported.
Last March, 1 000 arrests were made and the city imposed its first 8PM curfew.
The excessive partying and violence this year has caused authorities to go to extreme lengths to control the crowds once again, per Sky News:
As part of the measures, a curfew will be in place for the South Beach area from midnight until 6am on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, according to the Miami Herald, with another curfew expected to be brought in the following weekend.
100 guns have also been seized over the past four weeks, including 37 in the last three days, with Gelber mentioning that the city “can’t endure this anymore – we just simply can’t”:
“This isn’t your father or your mother’s spring break. This is something wholly different.”
Mr Gelber said several police officers had been injured in recent weeks while trying to control crowds, and having almost 400 police officers deployed last weekend was not enough to prevent the two shootings.
Mr Gelber said: “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.”
But the revellers just keep coming, pushing authorities to extremes and creating an “almost impossible situation” for the police.
Shoutout to this guy for trying his best to be optimistic about the jol, though:
🤭It’s a little different ballgame when reporting in Miami, especially South Beach. 😳Just as you were wrapping up and saying this year’s Spring Break was going smoothly, THIS👇🏻👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/U3b87AoNFw
— Steve Norris (@SteveNorrisTV) March 19, 2022
