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Miami Beach restrictions ‘were necessary to keep everyone safe’: Mayor Steven Meiner
Miami Beach mayor Steven Meiner joins ‘Fox News Live’ to discuss the security measures in place and how they affect residents and businesses.
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Police took down a second gunman on a Florida beach in back-to-back days, and hundreds of spring break arrests were made in Miami Beach over the first 16 days of the annual beach bash.
From March 1-16, Miami Beach made 256 spring break-related arrests, including four midnight curfew violations, police told Fox News Digital, which requested a more in-depth breakdown.
About four hours up the Florida coast, in New Smyrna Beach, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office arrested a second teenager with a firearm, a day after a 16-year-old pulled a gun on a crowded beach.
Despite the high volume of arrests, Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner told “Fox News Live” on Sunday that it has been the “calmest spring break we’ve had in years.”
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Spring breakers lounge on the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Robert O’Neil for Fox News Digital)
Miami Beach officials, in collaboration with Gov. Ron DeSantis and state police, prioritized law and order this year, a phrase used repeatedly in interviews and press conferences leading up to “March madness.”
They did not want a repeat of last year’s mayhem, when two people were killed in South Florida, and law enforcement made about 500 arrests (including 230 felonies) and seized 105 guns.
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A spring breaker runs from the surf holding a volleyball in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Robert O’Neil for Fox News Digital)
Isolated weapon scares snapped an idealistic spring break setting in New Smyrna Beach, a coastal city about 15 miles south of Daytona Beach, on back-to-back days.
On Thursday, Felixander Solis-Guzman, 16, pulled a gun on a crowded beach and ran from officers through the masses with the weapon, police said.
The wild scene was captured on bodycam video and released by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. Local police made a second gun arrest the next day.
WATCH NEW SMYRNA BEACH GUN SCENE
Ronny Bengochea-Chinea, 18, was arrested in New Smyrna Beach on Friday after Port Orange police found a handgun, marijuana and an extended magazine in his car.
The New Smyrna Beach Police Department released an image of the suspect’s gun in a picture on Facebook.
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A gun that police allegedly found in Ronny Bengochea-Chinea’s car at New Smyrna Beach on Friday. (New Smyrna Beach Police Department)
“We’ve warned against bringing guns and drugs to NSB,” the department said in the post. “We have a zero tolerance stance on weapons and narcotics violations. This person’s spring break is over.”
Bengochea-Chinea was charged with carrying a concealed firearm, according to Volusia County jail records, and was held on $5,000 bond.
Spring breakers are questioned by police in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Larry Paci for Fox News Digital)
But the party rages on
The isolated gun scares and arrests in Miami Beach did not prevent fun-seeking co-eds from enjoying their weekend getaway.
Photos and videos from Fort Lauderdale, which welcomed the party, showed the typical lazy lounging on the beach, dips in the water, drinking along beachfront bars and a buzzing nightlife.
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Spring breakers cheer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Robert O’Neil for Fox News Digital)
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis was not available to comment Monday, and Fort Lauderdale police told Fox News Digital that they were working on compiling information from over the weekend.
This past weekend, which coincided with St. Patrick’s Day, and this upcoming weekend are historically the busiest spring break weekends in Florida.
Last week, Fort Lauderdale officials said it was busier than usual for an opening weekend, but called it a “success” with little spring break-related crime.
A spring breaker waves from the bar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Robert O’Neil for Fox News Digital)
Spring breakers perform cheerleading feats in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Larry Paci for Fox News Digital)
Casey Liening, a spokesperson for the Fort Lauderdale police, told Fox News Digital last week that crowds were larger than normal, which was expected this year because of Miami Beach’s crackdown.
However, the first week went smoothly, with a few minor arrests.
This week, the city was packed with boozing college students, who were decked in green for St. Patrick’s Day.
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The city felt more like the epicenter of spring break than South Florida.
Kephene Wash, who visited from Tampa, told local10.com that their planned excursion to South Florida moved about 30 miles north to Fort Lauderdale because of Miami Beach’s guidelines.
“They broke up with us, so we had to slide down to Fort Lauderdale,” Wash told the local news outlet.
Spring breakers walk along the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Robert O’Neil for Fox News Digital)
Spring breakers play chicken fight in the ocean in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Larry Paci for Fox News Digital)
Spring break congregate in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Larry Paci for Fox News Digital)
State’s ‘unprecedented’ pre-emptive strike
DeSantis said earlier this month that over 140 state troopers, along with various other state resources, had been dispatched to South Florida as part of an “unprecedented” pre-emptive strike against spring break crime.
The plan was to send 60 state troopers to reinforce communities throughout South Florida, with a high concentration in Miami Beach, according to the governor.
Sixty more state troopers were mobilizing in additional hot spots like Daytona Beach and Panama City Beach, and 24 quick-response troopers were deploying to Bay, Volusia, Broward and Miami-Dade counties for immediate incidents.
Spring breakers congregate at an ATV in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Robert O’Neil for Fox News Digital)
A spring breaker kicks a soccer ball on the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Robert O’Neil for Fox News Digital)
Spring breakers are lined up by an ice-cream truck in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Larry Paci for Fox News Digital)
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“This is really unprecedented,” DeSantis said during a March 5 press conference. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen the state come in this forward-leaning going into a season like this.
“With all things considered, I think that we’re good and prepared as we’ve ever been throughout my time in the state of Florida,” he said.
Chris Eberhart is a crime and US news reporter for Fox News Digital. Email tips to [email protected] or on Twitter @ChrisEberhart48.