Miami Beach votes against new curfew restriction after weekend of violence
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on March 21, 2023
(MIAMI BEACH, Fla.) — The Miami Beach city commission voted against extending curfew restrictions, a day after the city imposed an overnight curfew for South Beach following multiple fatal shootings.
During a special committee meeting on Monday, the council discussed the curfew for more than an hour, but ultimately decided against extending the city manager’s full state of emergency, which would be from Thursday to Sunday.
“These are very challenging moments,” Mayor Dan Gelber said at the start of the meeting. “Very few cities have to deal with these issues the way that 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 on Friday night, discovering two men who were shot near 7 Street and Ocean Drive, officials said.
According to Miami Beach Police, one person had been detained and three guns were found at the scene.
On Sunday, police responded to a shooting where they found a wounded man near the 1000 block of Ocean Drive.
The unidentified man was sent to an area hospital, where he later died from his injuries, Miami Beach Police said on Twitter.
The shootings prompted Miami Beach officials to implement a curfew for South Beach starting 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
Sunday’s restriction was the third year in a row that city officials implemented a curfew.
Miami Beach issued a curfew last year after multiple people were injured following a series of violent incidents in the area.
“We have been through this scene for several years in a row,” Vice Mayor Steven Meiner said at Monday’s meeting. “It is never gonna be OK for me to see a dead person on our street.”
ABC News’ Matt Foster contributed to this report.
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