DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Law enforcement and city leaders in Daytona Beach are taking steps to ensure the safety of everyone as the second weekend of spring break approaches.
A special event zone starts at noon on Friday in Daytona Beach, which includes increased penalties for everyone and an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for minors, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and Daytona Beach City leaders.
The move comes after Daytona Beach leaders passed an emergency ordinance on Wednesday.
[RELATED: Why is Orlando International Airport so backed up?]
The increase in enforcement follows a chaotic first weekend of spring break, where 133 people were arrested in the county, and four separate shootings are being investigated in Daytona Beach alone.
Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said he was shocked at what happened.
“What we experienced was not a traditional spring break,” said Young. “There was an unsanctioned, social media-driven takeover.”
Young said the problem was not just the size of an unruly crowd, in the thousands, but the fact that there was little time to prepare after just ending bike week.
“Even if I had deployed all 222 officers, we were still grossly outnumbered,” said Young.
Commissioners in Daytona Beach also floated the idea of a spring break task force that would focus on what Daytona Beach wants long-term.
“I’m okay with saying that we don’t want to be a spring break destination for teenagers or college students,” said Mayor Derrick Henry.