United States: curfew in Miami Beach after two shootings during student “Spring Break”

Partygoers dance on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, Florida on March 18, 2022, during “Spring Break.” CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP Municipal authorities in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, voted on the evening of Tuesday March 22 to impose a weekend night curfew to stem a wave of gun violence that have injured five in recent days as students flock to the area for spring college vacation. Those “five people shot and killed could very well have been five people killed” by gunshots, Mayor Dan Gelber said at a meeting before the curfew was approved. “We can no longer bear” the situation, Mr. Gelber had already indicated the day before, after a second shooting in five days. The curfew, which covers the resort’s busiest area, including the famous Ocean Drive thoroughfare, will last from midnight to 6 a.m. each night, starting Wednesday evening and continuing through Monday morning. The authorities plan to renew it next week. Thirty-seven firearms seized In 2021, the city had already imposed a curfew and banned bars from selling alcohol after 2 a.m., and police arrested more than a thousand revelers for disturbances at public order. To avoid a repetition of these incidents, the police have increased their numbers and patrols. She seized 37 firearms in three days, the police chief said Monday. Every spring, a crowd of young revelers, especially students, take over the Miami Beach waterfront for alcoholic parties that last until the end of the night and can quickly degenerate. The “Spring Break” in Miami is part of the collective imagination of generations of students. But in recent years, residents seem increasingly disturbed by the situation, despite the undeniable contribution to the local economy. Read also Article reserved for our subscribers “Spring Breakers”: the macabre dance of teenagers Le Monde with AFP