Sawt Falasteen - Miami Beach imposes spring break curfew after gun violence

The decision came after two shootings that left five people wounded in recent days in Miami Beach, where the waterfront is taken over every spring by hordes of visitors for late-night drinking parties that sometimes turn ugly.

Last year police imposed a curfew after arresting more than 1,000 people over the course of six weeks for street fights and vandalism.

Spring break is part of the collective college experience of generations of American students -- but residents have increasingly opposed the social gatherings despite the contribution to the local economy.

On Thursday, few tourists were left on the streets of South Beach, the city's most visited neighborhood. And there was no sign of the dancing, loud music and alcohol consumption that usually turns the area into an open-air nightclub during this time of year.

Instead, police were patrolling the city's famous Ocean Drive at 11:59 pm (0359 GMT) when the curfew began, asking the few people left on the streets to return home.

The restrictions will run from midnight till 6:00 am Thursday through Monday.

A 49-year-old bartender named Raul -- who did not want to give his last name -- said he supports the decision to declare a curfew.

"This is not good for the business, but I agree with the authorities. Something needs to be done to guarantee public safety," he told AFP.

On Ocean Drive, Ebony McFarland, 27, said she is not keen on spending another spring break under curfew -- she endured it last year, too -- but is not surprised by the measure.

"I definitely understand why they are having a curfew because it gets out of control. There are young people who come here and they don't know how to act," said McFarland, who lives in Atlanta, 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) to the north.

- Controversial measure -

The authorities announced the curfew on Monday after last weekend's shootings.

On Wednesday, city hall announced it was adding a ban on alcohol sales in liquor stores and supermarkets in the busiest parts of town from 6:00 pm until opening time the next day. These curbs do not extend to bars and restaurants.

Marcus Gregory, a 24-year-old tourist from Houston, said the curfew is pointless.

"I don't understand how this is going to help. I don't feel that it's going to stop anything from happening," he said.

Stephen Hunter Johnson, a member of the Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board, said he sees race as a factor.

He said authorities have chosen Miami Beach for the curfew because the city draws a lot of Black people.

"The only emergency is that Black people are on the Beach," he told the Miami Herald.

Miami Beach resident John Lee, 27, sitting on a bench by the beach, said his town is no different than any other.

"I don't think there is anything spectacular here. These things happen everywhere in the world every day. And they do nothing about it," Lee said.

Police say they have seized around 100 firearms and arrested some 620 people in the city since February 18.

K.AbuDahab--SF-PST