Miami officials announced more than 1,000 people have already been taken into custody and about 80 guns have been seized since early February, when spring breakers started pouring into the Florida city famous for its nightlife and beaches.
A large crowd descended again on the Sunshine State city over the weekend and brought “chaos and disorder” to the city, police said.
“Since Friday, we have made over 50 arrests and confiscated 8 firearms,” the Miami Beach Police Department said on Twitter.
Miami Beach commissioners have also passed a vote unanimously on Sunday to extend curfews and closures at the popular tourist destination until at least March 30, with the option of extending it through April 12.
The curfews are intended to effectively shut down a famous hotspot for spring breakers in one of the few states nationwide that has already fully re-opened from lockdowns over the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, which causes the disease COVID-19.
#YourMBPD is working hard to keep our community safe. Since Friday, we have made over 50 arrests and confiscated 8 firearms. We’d like to thank all of our partner law enforcement agencies for their efforts and support. #MBPDprotecting #CollaborationIsKey pic.twitter.com/Vrg9mOFcOy
— Miami Beach Police (@MiamiBeachPD) March 21, 2021
More than half of the 1,000 people arrested during this spring break’s season were not local Floridians, but traveling from outside the state, city manager Raul Aguila said, adding that a large portion of the travelers came “to engage in lawlessness and an ‘anything goes’ party attitude”—something Spring Breakers have a reputation for.
One of the parties over the weekend descended into chaos and Miami police were forced to fire pepper balls into crowds of partiers as they also arrested a number of people refusing to submit to the new curfews while causing chaos.
Authorities said one restaurant was “turned upside down” in a melee, its “chairs were used as weapons,” and broken glass covered the floor. Several gunshots were also heard and a young woman was hospitalized with a badly cut leg.
Though most of the crowd remained peaceful, they refused to submit to an 8 p.m. curfew that was enacted by Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber earlier that night. The mayor also declared a state of emergency, saying the crowds that have descended on the city recently are “more than we can handle.”
“When hundreds of people are running through the streets panicked, you realize that’s not something that a police force can control,” Gelber said at a meeting on Sunday.
Many of the spring breakers traveling to the state did not eat at restaurants or patronizing businesses, but mainly congregated by the thousands in the streets, officials said.
Several videos on social media show crowds of people in the popular tourist city flouting social-distancing rules as they refuse to go home after the curfew was extended.
Miami Beach authorities, meanwhile, banned alcohol from the beach, along with all alcohol sales after 10 p.m., and even sent text messages to tourists warning, “Vacation Responsibly or Be Arrested.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.