MIAMI – On the heels of ringing in a new year, Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, Miami-Dade County commissioner Audrey M. Edmonson and a team of law enforcement officers took a stand together at Broadway Park with a clear message.
"Enjoy New Year's Eve with family and friends without celebratory gunfire. We want you to celebrate life, just remember it only takes one bullet to kill a party," Edmonson said.
The event is part of the group's "One bullet kills the party" movement, of which Miami-based rapper Pitbull is the face of the campaign.
In light of the latest rash of gun violence, including one that claimed the life of a 7-year-old boy in south Miami-Dade on Sunday, politicians said the time to act on stopping this violence is now.
"It takes everyone, including families, neighbors, and friends -- everyone needs to come together in this community," Edmonson said. "Let's see what we can do to stop all this gun violence."
"We need the people of Liberty Square and anywhere in the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County to come forward and help the authorities," Regalado said.
Since the campaign began, Regalado said it’s raising awareness and working by curbing what could have been tragedies on New Year's Eve.
"Since 2010, we have not had any shootings (on New Year's Eve) that had hurt people in the city of Miami," Regalado said.