Right hooks and flip-flops go flying as vicious all-out brawl erupts among female Spring Breakers in Miami: Concerned city officials extend midnight curfew after five people were injured in separate shootings
- A large brawl encompassing three separate fights was caught on video Saturday
- Women were dragged by their hair and repeatedly punched as a man filmed and chanted, ‘Miami! Miami!’
- The skirmish is one example of the violence that city officials are hoping to curb
- City leaders announced a curfew from 12am to 6am from Thursday to Saturday
- Commissioners are likely to extend it amid ongoing Spring Break violence
- Five people were wounded in two separate shootings over the weekend, and 100 guns have been seized in the past four weeks
Footage of a violent skirmish between Spring Break revelers in Miami Beach has emerged as city commissioners agreed to extend an emergency curfew Tuesday to curb gun violence and overall chaos that has gripped the city in recent days.
The commission voted unanimously during a special meeting to keep a midnight to 6 a.m. curfew in place for the city’s South Beach area through at least Monday.
The state of emergency declared Monday by City Manager Alina Hudak would have started the curfew early Thursday after midnight and run through Saturday. Besides the curfew, the commission’s Tuesday vote to give the city manager the power to stop liquor stores and other retailers from selling alcohol in the area.
Several commissioners acknowledged that the city might be sued by business owners, who normally make a lot of money in March, but they all agreed that keeping residents and visitors safe was the priority.
‘You cannot balance public safety with revenue,’ Mayor Dan Gelber said.
Thousands of college students and other young people gather each year in Miami Beach for spring break, and this is the second year in a row that officials for the South Florida city have declared a state of emergency in this famed partying spot.
Three people were wounded early Sunday on a street crowded with spring breakers in the city’s South Beach neighborhood, police said. Two victims wounded at the scene were taken to a hospital, while doctors at another hospital reported a third person arrived there with a gunshot wound. All were expected to survive.
A 41-second video appears to show three separate fights taking place on 10th Street, a mostly residential strip that intersects with busier thoroughfares like Collins Avenue and Ocean Drive, on Saturday night.
A woman in a blue mini dress punches another woman repeatedly while a third woman holds her down. A few feet away, in a different fight, one woman takes several blows to the arm and torso while another woman pulls her hair.
The melee, which allegedly happened Friday night, is just one example of the disorder that takes hold in the beach town this time of year.
A hundred guns have been seized over the past four weeks and five people were wounded in two separate shootings over the weekend despite 371 police officers being deployed.
On Monday, city leaders announced a curfew for the second year in a row.
Meanwhile, residents are venting on social media about the rowdy visitors, with one person stating: ‘Y’all need to pack it up and go back home.’
A woman’s hair is pulled as she’s repeatedly punched in a fight that allegedly took place on 10th Street in Miami Beach on Saturday night
A few feet away, two women were seen tussling on the ground while a man behind the camera chants, ‘Miami! Miami!’
The continued violence led Miami Beach leaders to call for a curfew from midnight to 6am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It will likely be extended by city commissioners on Tuesday
The quiet before the storm is daytime during spring break in Miami Beach, Fla. Streets and beaches are seen rather calm and quiet in Miami Beach on March 22, 2021
Early Monday, officers were patrolling about a block from the Sunday morning shooting site when they heard gunshots, police said. The officers found two women with gunshot wounds though police said their wounds weren’t life-threatening.
At the urging of some residents, city officials have been working in recent years to crack down on unruly behavior in South Beach. But moves to curb the excessive drinking and violence have raised complaints about racism, classism and business practices.
Joshua Wallack, chief operating officer of Mango´s Tropical Café, represents one of the Ocean Drive businesses that have pushed back against attempts by city officials to ban alcohol sales after 2 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. But Wallack said he understood the need for the emergency curfew.
‘They’re reacting to the conditions that are present and doing what’s best for the city,’ Wallack said.
Events like the Miami Beach Live concert series have helped control crowds this year, Wallack said. The problems seems to arise when large groups of people just hang around outside with nothing to do, he said. Wallack said he hopes the city can arrange for more events in the future.
More than 1,000 people were arrested last March, when the city imposed an 8 p.m. curfew. Authorities at the time sent military style vehicles to disperse predominantly black crowds with rubber bullets, prompting criticism from nlack activists.
Beachgoers stumble in the rough shore break in Miami Beach on March 22, 2022
The group of friends play in the surf at Miami Beach on March 22 during the quiet before the storm
Ouch! One woman displays her tan lines as two women embrace at Cafe Ibiza during Spring Break on Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida
Miami Beach officials have since introduced a curfew for this coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday to prevent similar violence from taking hold in the island-city of about 90,000 people
This spring break has seen thousands of students flock to South Florida after a two year delay due to Covid restrictions. Above, students at Fort Lauderdale Beach on Tuesday
Spring Break revelers gathered on Miami Beach Tuesday for a calmer afternoon, compared with the weekend. There have been at least 6 shootings in Miami Beach since the start of spring break in 2022.
Police officers in Miami Beach are exhausted, their union leader says, after weeks of trying to keep the peace in Miami Beach with an increased number of Spring Breakers, seen here Tuesday
Some frustrated Miami Beach residents have said they wish the revelers, seen here Tuesday, would just go home
In video of the brawl, the camera pans from one fight to the other as a person behind the camera laughs and shouts, ‘Miami! Miami!’
One woman’s breasts are exposed as she’s punched and her hair is pulled.
The camera then cuts to yet another woman being dragged violently by the hair from the sidewalk and onto the pavement as people take turns beating her with their fists.
Miami Beach officials have since introduced a curfew for this coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday to prevent similar violence from taking hold in the island-city of about 90,000 people.
The curfew will apply to the area between 23rd Street and South Pointe Drive, according to the Miami Herald. Cars will not be turned away, with police instead focusing on telling crowds to return to their hotels or leave.
‘Over the last two nights, five innocent people were shot in our streets,’ Mayor Dan Gelber said Monday afternoon.
Regarding Spring Break crowds, he stressed, ‘We don’t ask for it, promote it, or encourage it. We just endure it.’
City Manager Alina Hudak is declaring a state of emergency, which allows her to impose the curfew for 72 hours unless city commissioners vote to extend it.
A DailyMail.com review of commissioners’ social media pages shows that most appear to be on board with the new restrictions.
Five people were wounded in two shootings over the weekend. Above, police investigate a shooting that left two women with gunshot wounds
Pictured: a crowd gathers after a shooting during Spring Break on Miami Beach, an incident of which that prompted city officials to enforce a curfew by way of a state of emergency
‘Public safety is job one for local government. I fully support our City Manager’s declaration of an emergency order including a midnight curfew starting Thursday,’ commissioner Mark Samuelian wrote Monday. ‘I will continue to support our Police department to ensure they have all the resources they require to ensure the safety of our residents and visitors.’
Commissioner Steven Meiner wrote: ‘I am supportive of these measures in an effort to stop the violence and am supportive of this midnight curfew for next weekend as well.’
On Twitter, frustrated Miami residents just want partygoers to leave.
‘Spring Break and Memorial Day are the two worst times to be on Miami Beach. People from other states flocks down there and starts problems,’ said user @SonnySaneus.
Frustrated residents have taken to Twitter to vent about the crowds of tourists that sometimes turn violent, leading to a curfew for the second year in a row
‘I thought spring break was only one week,’ said user @Rauuuul__. ‘Y’all been in Miami since the beginning of March.’
One person harked back to a bygone era of partying with less violence.
‘They just put Miami in a state of emergency bc of all the shootings at Spring Break…that’s sad smh. I’m glad I got to experience Spring Break will shit was still SANE!’
The Miami Beach Fraternal Order of Police tweeted that four officers were injured during the festivities, with the cop union calling their officers ‘exhausted’ and adding that ‘the party needs to end.’
‘We can’t endure this anymore. We just simply can’t,’ Gelber said.
‘This isn’t your father’s or your mother’s Spring Break. This is something wholly different.’
Gelber noted that the five people were shot over the weekend despite 371 police officers being deployed.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber (left) and Miami Beach City Manager Alina Hudak (right) will enforce a midnight curfew beginning Thursday on rowdy Spring Breakers
An estimated 570,000 students are expected to flock to Florida for Spring Break this year, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Above, people at the beach on Sunday
Spring break typically peaks during the final two weeks of March when the majority of schools and colleges break for a week. Above, Colorado School of Mines students from center, Carter Noehre, 22, Weston Hunt, 22, and Jack Damenti, 22, watch as Anderson Salisbury, 22, sculpts a large dolphin out of sand on Fort Lauderdale Beach on Tuesday
About 35 miles north up A1A in Fort Lauderdale, the bars and clubs will remain open until 4 a.m.
On Monday, Spring Breakers were seen lounging on beaches, posing for selfies and splashing in the waves. The crowds of people dressed for the weather in tiny bikinis and colorful swim trunks were undeterred by the visible presence of police officers on horseback looking to keep a lid on the celebrations.
An estimated 570,000 students are expected to flock to Florida, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Spring break typically peaks during the final two weeks of March when the majority of schools and colleges break for a week.
Last week saw the celebrations kick off in earnest, featuring wet T-shirt contests, twerking and public smooching sessions, but they didn’t pass without incident.
Three people were wounded early Sunday on a South Beach street crowded with Spring Breakers, police said.
Two victims wounded at the scene were taken to a hospital, while doctors at another hospital reported a third person arrived there with a gunshot wound.
All were expected to survive.
Early Monday, officers were patrolling about a block from the Sunday morning shooting site when they heard gunshots, police said.
The officers found two women with gunshot wounds. Police said their wounds weren’t life-threatening.
On Monday, officers heard gunshots when they were patrolling about a block from where a shooting occurred on Sunday.
Monday night, Miami Beach was starting to heat up with police reinforcing its ranks in addition to instilling a curfew
Beachgoers stumble in the rough surf in Miami Beach on Tuesday. Daytime has been quieter during Spring Break for the past couple of weeks
Calmer afternoon for Spring Break revelers at Miami Beach on Tuesday
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