Miami Beach rejects extending curfew in wake of deadly shootings

Miami Beach will not continue its spring break curfew next weekend, city officials decided at a Monday special committee meeting that came in the wake of local violence, CBS News reports.

The Miami Beach City Commissioners voted 4-3 not to renew the curfew, enacted at 11:59 p.m. last Saturday following two deadly shootings.

“We are making a big mistake,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, who supported extending the curfew beyond its Monday expiration, said following the vote, according to Bloomberg. “I hope it’s not one that results in something worse.”

The curfew, which affected all areas south of Miami Beach’s Dade Boulevard and required businesses to close by midnight, was intended to address “excessively large and unruly crowds,” according to Miami Beach Police.

The measure follows a similar curfew imposed around this time last year.

“These are very challenging moments,” Gelber added, according to ABC News. “Very few cities have to deal with these issues the way that we have to deal with them.”