Miami Beach

Miami Beach Declares Emergency, Imposes Curfew After Spring Break Violence

The city declared a state of emergency after five people were wounded in separate shootings over the weekend

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The City of Miami Beach declared state of emergency measures — including a curfew — amid recent violence during spring break.

The move follows two separate shootings this weekend that left five people hospitalized. Mayor Dan Gelber, city commissioners, City Manager Alina T. Hudak and Police Chief Richard Clements addressed the violence Monday during a news conference.

"Our city is past its endpoint," Gelber said.

The curfew goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday and lasts until 6 a.m. Monday. It covers 23rd Street to the north, down to South Pointe Drive to the south, the ocean to the east and the bay to the west. Officials intend to impose the same curfew for the following weekend.

Gelber emphasized his frustration with the violence despite the "massive deployment of police resources (the) city has ever seen."

"We can't endure this anymore," he said.

Police seized 100 guns over the past four weeks, including 37 firearms over the past three days, Clements added.

NBC 6's Julia Bagg has more on what you need to know if you're planning on going to the city through the upcoming weekend.

"We just simply cannot have people come to our city and have to worry about being shot," Gelber said. "That's not a way a city can operate."

Officials will hold a special commission meeting Tuesday to discuss the state of emergency.

In the most recent incident, two women were hospitalized after a shooting at around 1 a.m. Monday in the 700 block of Ocean Drive in the Florida city.

On Sunday morning, three people were hospitalized after a shooting just after midnight along Ocean Drive near 8th Street. Cellphone video shows a crowd of people running away after shots were fired.

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