MIAMI BEACH (CBS Miami) – After a busy spring break weekend marred by two shootings in the entertainment district, Miami Beach is taking action.
Monday afternoon, Mayor Dan Gelber and City Commissioners, City Manager Alina T. Hudak, and Police Chief Richard Clements are set to announce a state of emergency and outline specific measures on crowd control that will be implemented during the spring break period.
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Monday morning, one man was arrested in connection to a shooting near 7th Street and Ocean Drive. Two women were injured, one with non-life threatening injuries, the other was grazed by a bullet.
Lo Mills said he was heading home when he briefly made eye contact with the gunman.
“I see a guy with a gun running so I pulled out my gun. I’m thinking he’s gonna shoot me, so [when] I see that he ain’t gonna shoot me, I let him go,” said Mills who told CBS4 he was later detained and questioned by Miami Beach police after they saw him armed. Mills was later released.
Miami Beach police said Derrick Mitchell, 19, was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed firearm and tampering with evidence. Officers reportedly observed him running with a gun and then throwing it in some bushes when he was told to stop. He told police he only fired his gun because someone shot at him first, according to the arrest report. Surveillance video backed up that claim. It showed him pulling a gun and firing five rounds after someone shot at him.
The primary gunman remains at large.
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Another shooting happened Sunday around midnight near 8th Street and Ocean Drive.
According to Miami Beach police, two of the people shot were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A third victim showed up at Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound, also non-life-threatening.
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Surveillance video shows the moments after the shooting when hundreds of people ran away from the scene, then moments later, the large crowds ran back, creating a situation Gelber said has become way too common.
“No community, no police force, should have to suffer through this. You know I’m really tired of it, frankly, I’d love to get rid of spring break. I wish the spring breakers would go somewhere else,” he said.
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Gelber said the city has been doing everything in its power to control the crowds, but those measures were not enough.
