More Than 30 Shots Fired in Wild Early-Morning Ocean Drive Shootout

A wild gun battle rocked Ocean Drive this morning, with more than 30 shots blasted in the early hours near Fifth Street. Nearby streets are still closed while Miami Beach Police try to unravel a chaotic crime scene.

By some miracle, no one was injured in all the gunfire. Detectives have located a vehicle of interest and recovered guns related to the case from a site off the MacArthur Causeway, says Officer Ernesto Rodriguez, an MBPD spokesperson.

The shooting is just the latest blemish on the iconic beachside stretch, which Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine says has "become a scene of chaos and crime" in recent years. At least two people have been gunned down on Ocean Drive this year, including a 20-year-old spring breaker and a 30-year-old anti-gun violence advocate from New York.

City commissioners unveiled a ten-point plan to rehabilitate Ocean Drive this past summer, but naysayers complain the changes are largely cosmetic. Mitch Novick, the outspoken owner of the Sherbrooke Hotel, has argued that the plan does not adequately address noise, which he believes is the root cause of the problem.

In a New York Times story earlier this month, Novick said the plan was "a 'fundamentally flawed' parade of half-measures that would ultimately fail."

Novick filmed the aftermath of the latest shooting while Miami Beach Police combed the scene to piece together what happened:

Details are still sparse on what sparked the gunfire. The Miami Herald reports that Tuesday's shooting was caused by two groups firing at each other. Three people are reportedly being questioned.

More information about the shooting will be released later Tuesday, Rodriguez tells New Times.