Miami Spring Break sees fatal shootings and curfew crackdown

Miami Beach, Florida - Spring Break in Miami Beach has again ended in disaster as two fatal shootings took place over the weekend. The city said it has been forced to enact a strict curfew in response.

Two fatal shootings occurred during Spring Break in Miami Beach over the weekend, leaving two people dead.
Two fatal shootings occurred during Spring Break in Miami Beach over the weekend, leaving two people dead.  © IMAGO/ZUMA Wire/Aaron Leibowitz

Spring Break is celebrated in Miami Beach each year, with high temperatures, plenty of sunshine, and sandy beaches almost 10 miles long attracting thousands of college students and vacationers.

But as in the past, incidents over the weekend resulted in tragic deaths.

Amid St. Patrick's Day celebrations on Friday, a shooting killed one male and injured another victim. Early Sunday morning, another victim lost their life in a shooting, which also injured another, according to CNN.

Harrowing video footage from a surveillance camera shows the gunman in the second incident targeting his victim from the crowd around 3:30 AM and continuing to shoot him "execution-style" as he fell to the ground, according to video obtained by the New York Post. The suspect was arrested and identified as 24-year-old Dontavious Leonard Polk.

The killings have caused the City of Miami to impose a new curfew, affecting residents and businesses.

What time is the City of Miami Beach curfew during Spring Break?

Students strolled in Miami Beach during Spring Break in Miami, Florida, over the weekend.
Students strolled in Miami Beach during Spring Break in Miami, Florida, over the weekend.  © REUTERS

After the second fatal incident, the city of Miami reacted "to the two shootings and the excessively large and unruly crowds" by ordering "a state of emergency and a 11:59 p.m. curfew," the city said in a press release.

The midnight curfew went into effect on Sunday night and lasted until 6 AM.

The new rules state those in designated areas of Miami would not be allowed to leave their homes or hotels during the curfew and businesses must be cleared by midnight, with police checks to enforce the policy.

Some who broke the rules were detained by police on Sunday night, according to CNN.

City leaders will discuss further curfew measures at a special commission meeting on Monday.

There, "the City Manager intends to impose similar additional curfew restrictions from Thursday, March 23, 2023, through Monda, March 27, 2023," the city's memo said.

Those breaking the law are subject to arrest.

Similar measures were put in place in Miami the last two years, after the city saw shootings and hundreds of arrests during Spring Break.

Cover photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire/Aaron Leibowitz

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