MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – One person was taken a hospital after a police-involved shooting in Miami Beach, officials said.
The shooting incident occurred Saturday along the 500 block of Ocean Drive.
Officials said a Miami Beach police officer was flagged down about a person with a firearm inside an establishment on Ocean Drive.
Contact was made with an armed male, which resulted in officers discharging their firearms, officials said.
After the sound of gunfire could be heard, people were seen running from the Fritz Hotel on Ocean Drive, north of Fifth Street, as dozens of officers rushed in.
Local 10 News was in the process of interviewing Miami Beach police about how their officers were shutting down certain sections of the beach to handle crowd control following concerns about the coronavirus. The interview was interrupted by a call from dispatch.
Local 10 News photographer Wade Hughes grabbed his camera. He and reporter Roy Ramos also ran for cover and stood back as Miami Beach police moved in.
“Well, we seen the police going over there, and then we were wondering, ‘What are they doing?’” witness Haley Meadows said. “Just so many gunshots.”
Local 10 News watched as one man with visible injuries was placed on a gurney in the back of an ambulance and rushed to the hospital. His condition was not given.
The shooting happened in the midst of spring break crowds police officers were trying to clear away from the beach for their safety.
Authorities said there is no threat to public safety at the scene. No officers were injured.