1 dead, 1 critically wounded in Miami Beach shooting as spring break crowds run for safety

Spring break took a tragic turn for revelers and tourists celebrating South Florida’s warm weather and world-famous beaches.

A shooting in South Beach late Friday night left one person dead and one critically wounded, Miami Beach Police said.

In a statement released early Saturday morning, authorities said gunshot sounds were heard just after 10:30 p.m. near 7th St. and Ocean Drive, which is closed to vehicle traffic to make room for the thousands of spring breakers who flock to South Beach for wild nights of partying.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found two males with gunshot wounds. The victims were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Unit.

One of the men died at the hospital, and the other is listed in critical condition, police said.

Detectives are still investigating what led to the incident. Three firearms were recovered at the scene and one person was detained.

A CBS Miami reporter, who was in the area working on another story, said he saw people running toward his car and then heard at least five shots being fired.

One Twitter user who said he was “so close to this scene,” wrote that “Ocean Drive panicked en masse.”

A graphic video shared on Twitter appears to show an officer performing CPR on a victim outside the Avalon Hotel.

Just after 1 p.m. ET, Miami Beach Police released an update confirming “this was an isolated incident.”

The person who was taken into custody is “cooperating fully with the investigation.” However, police said the identities of all parties can’t be released while the investigation is ongoing.

Last year, city leaders imposed a midnight curfew following two similar incidents on Ocean Drive.