MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 23: Miami Beach Police Department dispatched 301 officers to deter misconduct as thousands of college students and non-students attend Spring Break festivities in Miami Beach on March 23, 2019 in Miami, Florida, USA. (Photo by Sean Drakes/Getty Images)
One of the men who was killed during spring break in Miami Beach has been identified as Georgia college student Jordan Idahosa.
Idahosa, whose brother Sammy described him as a “warrior” and “scholar,” was a student at South Georgia State College before falling victim to gun violence over the weekend, as reported by The Shade Room.
The 21-year-old was shot dead Friday night on South Beach’s Ocean Drive, the first of two fatal shootings over the weekend in the spring break destination, according to WALB.
“Jordan was a special guy. He went from being homeschooled to being a scholar,” Jordan’s brother, Sammy Idahosa, told the news outlet.
He’d added: “There’s millions and millions of memories of me and Jordan. We grew up three years apart, and we practically did everything together. He’s like my twin brother.”
He went on to describe his brother as a “warrior” who “still is (with us) in spirit.”
“Jordan was the first Idahosa to depart from us. It doesn’t feel real,” Sammy said.
A friend of Jordan’s told the outlet about the moment his friend was fatally shot, leaving another person injured.
“My friend had called me to see where I was at, and I turned around for like 10 seconds. After that, all you heard was gunshots. I really didn’t know who it was. I couldn’t see anything,” Javon Johnson told WALB.
Authorities have since called the shooting an isolated incident, and have arrested a person of interest who is reportedly cooperating with investigators.
Meanwhile, another spring breaker was shot to death with a stolen handgun two days later at Ocean Drive and 11th Street, disturbing video of which has circulated on social media.
Dontavious Polk, 24, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder after he reportedly fled from the crime scene and tossing the gun in doing so.
Police have called that shooting, a “targeted and isolated incident.” Polk allegedly fired at least nine times before running off.
Meanwhile, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber denounced the violence, saying “we don’t want spring break in our city.”
“We don’t ask for spring break in our city. We don’t want spring break in our city. It’s too rowdy, it brings too much disorder and it’s simply too difficult to police,” he said.
On Sunday, the mayor imposed a curfew and banned the sale of alcohol after a certain hour in an effort to quell the violence.
“It is clear that even an unprecedented police presence could not prevent these incidents from occurring,” Gelber said. “The volume of people in our city, the unruly nature of too many, and the presence of guns has created a peril that cannot go unchecked.”
This is a developing story, check in with The Shade Room for more updates as they come.
