Myrtle Beach ain’t got nothing on Miami Beach and Clearwater Beach, except for the lack of massive law enforcement.     Apparently there’s a commonality…. 

Beach Blanket Bang-bro’s

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Fort Lauderdale police believe hundreds of young people made their way to the beach for one reason this Memorial Day, to cause trouble.

Police described a volatile scene Monday night as they had to arrest dozens of people that were part of unruly crowds.    Two separate incidents late Monday afternoon kept officers busy. One scene was near the area of 31st Avenue and West Broward Boulevard.

The other was near the beach close to A1A.  Police said around 5 o’clock in the afternoon, hundreds of young people made their way to the beach for one reason this Memorial Day, to cause trouble.

Fort Lauderdale Police were in riot gear as a large crowd of young people moved through A1A reportedly causing mayhem.

“We had several reports of individuals who were reaching into vehicles, striking drivers. We have reports individuals who were jumping on top of taxicabs,” said Detective Deanna Greenlaw with Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

Fort Lauderdale Police officials said a group of young people came to the beach to fight and when police quickly broke it up, they scattered through the streets.

“This was something that was planned through these individuals and they were coming to Fort Lauderdale Beach Park for this purpose, to cause a problem,” added Greenlaw.

Some people who witnessed the scene said the situation got out of hand.

Others said police sprayed the troublemakers with mace.

Police tell CBS4’s Carey Codd they arrested dozens of people and shut down bridges to the beach for an hour.

By nightfall police were still at the ready as investigators said a tag team effort between Fort Lauderdale and the Broward Sheriff’s Office kept people safe. (read more)

Meanwhile on the other coast…..

CLEARWATER FL — Three of the four men arrested after a series of shootings on Clearwater Beach Monday night were armed, and one of them fired upon a group of 15 people outside the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa, striking the hotel instead.

At least 250 rooms in the hotel were occupied at the time.

These are some of the details that emerge from affidavits Clearwater police filed upon arresting the four, all of whom are from Tampa.

During the shootings Monday night, two were wounded, and one was taken to Tampa General Hospital with a shot to the groin. The other, who was shot in the hand, fled.

Neither of the victims was a random bystander.

Joelle Castelli, a spokeswoman for the city of Clearwater, previously said the shootings began outside the Hyatt. After an argument involving a large group, one person left to retrieve a gun, the spokeswoman said. When he returned another person fired shots from the hotel’s parking garage.

Another shooting occurred near Pier 60, about two blocks north of the Hyatt. Police did not disclose the third shooting location.

The suspect who fired upon the crowd at the Hyatt at 301 S. Gulfview Blvd. is Jerry Lee Holmes Jr., 31, of 3201 N. 15th St., Tampa, one affidavit says. He works for the city of Tampa, the affidavit says.

At roughly 6:50 p.m., Holmes was arguing with a “rival group” when he pulled a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun from his waist and fired the three shots, an affidavit said. Holmes admitted to the crime, and was charged with throwing a deadly missile into a building.

Another of the suspects arrested, Terrance Antonio Kirnes, 20, of 5205 86th St., Tampa, was involved in the same stand-off, affidavits say. He told police he was in a “mutual combat fight” outside the Hyatt — with several young men beating him — when he heard shots, affidavits say, and started running.  (read more)