Spring Break spirals out of control in Miami, SWAT teams fire warning shots

Spring Break celebrations have gotten so wild that a state of emergency has been declared and SWAT teams forced to fire warning shots.

Police in Miami Beach have used SWAT teams to try and enforce an emergency curfew against out-of-control Spring Break revellers as the celebrations spiralled out of control.

At one point over the weekend a wild stampede was sparked when police fired pepper spray at a crowd of partygoers.

A large crowd of people participate in a party on a street during spring break in Miami Beach, Florida, Picture: EPA/AAP

Videos on social media and local media showed thousands of revellers defying both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Florida beach town’s curfew after it started at 8pm on Saturday.

Even as special weapons and tactics teams rolled in to block the streets and used piercing sound cannons to try to clear the completely packed streets, the parties continue to rage for hours, a reporter for the Daily Beast noted from the scene.

Students have inundated the South Florida area for the annual spring break ritual. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

Women fight on the street near Ocean Drive on March 19. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

Dreams and Nightmares playing rn. There’s a curfew in Miami Beach pic.twitter.com/tdQGBhIhtb

— Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) March 21, 2021

Videos shared on social media showed some standing among the masses to throw out money, while another showed women twerking on tops of cars, long after the curfew was supposedly enforced.

At least one woman climbed on top of a police vehicle to dance provocatively, the Miami Herald noted.

Police ultimately fired pepper spray at the crowd, with wild videos showing a mad stampede in the still-packed crowd.

Several people were knocked to the ground — including one man who expertly held a Hennessy cognac bottle to protect it from smashing.

It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was injured.

Here’s Miami Beach tonight, 10 minutes after new 8 p.m. city-wide curfew.

City also declared a State of Emergency today in light of larger than expected #SpringBreak crowds. @CBSMiamipic.twitter.com/D6aCjgE2cf

— Brooke Shafer (@BrookeShaferTV) March 21, 2021

Throngs of revellers flocking to Miami Beach for spring break have become so uncontrollable authorities imposed a 8pm curfew. Picture: Chandan Khanna / AFP

Miami Beach police have reported hundreds of arrests and officers' stepped-up deployment to control the spring break crowds. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

Spring break in Miami typically lasts about six weeks. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

The streets were not fully cleared until close to midnight on Saturday — a full four hours after the curfew started, the Miami Herald said.

Miami Beach police said last weekend, there were about 100 arrests and two officers were injured due to unruly crowds. Around two dozen people were arrested on Thursday and about 12 arrested on Friday, CNN reported.

Local officials enforced the curfew after mass fighting and a rise in crime among the crowds of spring breakers who are also defying coronavirus-safety protocols, they said.

The national media will tell you #MiamiBeach issued a state of emergency and shut down because of the crowds and some will lie and say it's because of Covid. That's only half the story. Here are some videos of what is really going on.

This happened TWICE at the same Resturant pic.twitter.com/n2aPnRlAHX

— Mommar (@MisterCommodity) March 21, 2021

SWAT left the block it was on. Crowd still on Ocean Drive. pic.twitter.com/jDyNNZODHl

— Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) March 21, 2021

Miami Beach is one of the most popular destinations for American students during spring break. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

Miami Beach City’s interim city manager Raul Aguila declared a state of emergency.

“These crowds are in the thousands,” Mr Aguila told the Herald. “We’re at capacity.”

But the curfew will make no difference, several visitors told the Daily Beast.

“It’s crazy out here,” Q Johnson, a 20-year-old student at Manhattan College in New York, said.

“It’s lit. It’s chaotic … Too many m****r f*****s out here being lawless.”

He insisted he was not worried about the pandemic, saying: “We’re good. We’re young.”

University of Illinois senior Jeb Jones, 24, said the “low point” was merely “waiting in line to get into McDonald’s.”

Miami Beach police officers keep an eye on people along Ocean Drive during a particularly unruly day on Friday. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

A few minutes before the 9 pm curfew, a young man began making it rain and then police fired pepper balls, creating a stampede. #miamibeachspringbreak on assignment for @thedailybeastpic.twitter.com/Fx3e4wGKaE

— francisco alvarado (@thefrankness) March 21, 2021

“The curfew is not gonna stop me,” he said. “We will continue to rage. The bars are great.”

Meanwhile a popular Miami Beach party spot, the Clevelander Hotel, announced it was up shop until at least next weekend due to the hordes of young people descending on Miami Beach.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said he didn’t “blame (the owners) for wanting to close” because it felt “like this city is under a level of siege.”

— with Fox News. This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission