MIAMI – Miami-Dade officials are reminding the public to be safe while enjoying the holiday weekend. They specifically want guns put away, stressing that celebrations and gunfire don’t go hand and hand.
"Gun violence continues to plague our community," Miami-Dade County Commissioner Audrey Edmonson said.
Miami-Dade County commissioners, along with police chiefs, gathered Wednesday in Miami ahead of the holiday weekend, stressing their annual message: "One bullet kills the party."
"One life lost is one life too many," Edmonson said.
Officials want to make sure guns are put away and members of the community enjoy the Fourth of July peacefully while watching the fireworks.
"You should not have a sentence where you are saying 'celebration' and 'gunfire' at the same time. There is no scenario where that should exist," Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina said. "It's really quite simple. Do not fire your weapon. It's illegal, and we have zero tolerance for that."
Police stressed that when bullets are fired up in the air, the bullets must come down.
That is exactly what happened last December in southwest Miami-Dade.
A man was sitting down at a holiday party when he was struck. Cellphone video captured him falling to the ground after the bullet pierced his chest. He later died at a hospital.
"Let's celebrate together. Let's not do things that are senseless," Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said.