The City of Miami Beach has issued a state of emergency and a midnight curfew following two fatal shooting incidents and "excessively large and unruly crowds," according to a news release from the city.
"In response to the two shootings and the excessively large and unruly crowds, and to mitigate dangerous and illegal conduct, the City of Miami Beach has ordered a state of emergency and a 11:59 p.m. curfew to take effect on Sunday, March 19, 2023 through 6 a.m. Monday, March 20, 2023," the release said. "The city will hold a special commission meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss potential restrictions beyond Monday."
The city manager also plans to impose additional restrictions, according to the release, from March 23 through March 27.
On Friday, violence broke out in the popular South Beach area amid both St. Patrick's Day festivities and Spring Break celebrations, leaving one person dead and another injured, according to authorities. Four firearms were recovered from the scene, police said.
In addition, one person was fatally shot and another injured early Sunday morning, according to a tweet from Miami Beach Police.
"On Sunday, March 19 at 3:29 a.m. Miami Beach Police officers heard gunshots near 11 Street and Ocean Drive and found one male with gunshot wounds along the 1000 block of Ocean Drive," the tweet read. "The male was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Unit, where he later died. A second victim was injured but treated and released on-site."
Last year, the City of Miami Beach similarly imposed a midnight curfew after two Spring Break shootings. The nightly curfew ran from 12:01 a.m. ET Thursday and expired Monday morning at 6 a.m. ET.
"I'm at my wit's end trying to figure out how to be able to deal with this crowd with the numbers that are here and with what we are encountering during the policing of this particular event," Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements said at the time.
