Tense calm in Miami Beach after a wild weekend

Miami Beach was calm on Monday evening, after yet another raucous weekend that saw a curfew introduced to curb the wild partying and resulting riots.

Officers along Ocean Drive moved in on a crowd of partygoers after the 8pm curfew fell, as many took off running. One person was detained, but the area was much calmer than the night before, Local 10 reported.

Dan Gelber, the mayor of Miami Beach, stressed in a video statement on Monday that many of the vacationers are not ‘college kids on their vacation,’ but rather visitors who are traveling with criminal intentions.

In recent weeks, South Beach saw brawls, crowd stampedes and police confrontations involving the use of pepper balls.

Miami Beach was crowded on Monday evening but calm as an 8pm curfew came into force

People dance and twerk on Miami Beach on Monday evening as the Spring Break celebrations continued

Revelers flocked to the beach city in Florida for the annual gathering, which has gone ahead despite the pandemic

Miami Beach police have made over 1,000 arrests since February and at least five officers have been hurt, the department said.

At least 102 firearms have been seized from Miami Beach streets, and there have been more than 11,000 traffic citations.

Gelber said the curfew measures and heavy police presence, with five forces drafted in, were necessary to maintain law and order and limit the spread of COVID-19.

‘Over the last weeks and longer, our city has been one of the only true destination cities open for business anywhere,’ Gelber said.

‘While most of our guests come here for all the reasons we hope they do and follow rules, there are clearly too many coming here with other ideas. And some are bringing guns.’

Crowds of mostly mask-less tourists are seen along Ocean Drive in Miami Beach

Miami Beach has long been a hot destination for Spring Break sunseekers hoping for good times in the sun

Skateboarders are seen cruising down Ocean Drive during Spring Break in Miami Beach on Monday

He said that many visitors were blase about masks and social distancing, at a time when Miami-Dade County is still seeing about 1,000 new COVID-19 infections a day and hospitalization rates have still not seen enough of a dip.

On Saturday the Miami Beach City Commission unanimously decided during an emergency meeting to introduce an 8pm curfew.

The curfew and road closures were extended on Sunday until the end of Spring Break, on April 12.

As night fell, partygoers remained on the streets on Monday but there was no repeat of the violent scenes

One person was seen being taken away by police on Monday, who have arrested more than 1,000 since February

There was a heavy police presence in Miami Beach on Monday night, as the 8pm curfew came into force

Interim City Manager Raul Aguila said the measures will seek to ‘contain the overwhelming crowd of visitors and the potential for violence, disruption and damage to property.’

He added: ‘These aren’t your typical spring breakers.’

Two men from North Carolina appeared in court on Monday charged with drugging and raping a 24-year-old Pennsylvania woman, who was later found dead in a hotel.

Dorian Taylor, 24, and Evoire Collier, 21, were caught on surveillance video entering the Albion Hotel with the victim and later leaving without her.

Miami Beach police say Christine Englehardt was found partly nude and lifeless inside her room at the Albion on James Avenue on Thursday.