Black Spring Break in Biloxi sees 31 gun incidents, claims of racial discrimination

The police report on last weekend’s Black Spring Break shows guns and narcotics were brought to the beach, Biloxi Police Chief John Miller reported Tuesday.

Miller said there were “31 separate incidents with guns in that area.” One person was armed with a switch, he said, which allows a handgun to fire like a machine gun.

In addition, Miller reported 61 seizures of narcotics in the area of spring break.

Biloxi Police made about 60 arrests in that area of the beach over the three-day event, he said. Of the 2,538 calls for service during the week, 740 were in the event area over the weekend, he said, including a call about a person on the beach with a gun.

“Some of this is spring breakers calling us,” he said.

Miller said problems with spring break aren’t just in Biloxi, where events are called by various names indicating it is a “Black” spring break.

“It’s not just us — it’s all across the country,” Miller said, and especially in the South, where cities like Miami Beach and Panama City Beach have instituted curfews and taken other steps to control the crowds and violence by spring breakers of all races.

Charges of racism

The organizer of Black Spring Break hasn’t commented directly on the events of the weekend, while the organizers of Black Beach Weekend said in a press release they are addressing “the blatant discrimination, misinformation, and unethical mistreatment of spring breakers from the Biloxi Police Department, City of Biloxi, Gulfport Police Department, news media and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office.”

Maurice Bryant, CEO of Black Beach Weekend, and Derrian Burns, general manager, said the way spring break was handled this year differs from other major events in South Mississippi.

“We are absolutely committed to providing an organized, safe and enjoyable experience for everyone that attends our organized and promoted events regardless of color or racial background,” they said in a news release.

While crime and violence in not tolerated, they said, racial discrimination, harassment and violence also will not be tolerated.

“The fight to continue our culture and to celebrate people of color being able to use and enjoy the public beaches on the Mississippi Gulf Coast starts now,” they said. “It starts with all of us demanding equal treatment and calling out unethical practices.”

Bryant told the Biloxi Council on Tuesday he was left out of any meetings by the special events committee and was not notified when they would be held, although he didn’t apply for any special event permits.

Police came armed

Miller responded to questions about why the police carried rifles during the weekend.

“Yes, we armed ourselves,” he said, “especially because of what happened last year.”

One person was shot and killed during the 2023 spring break. Five more were shot and injured in the city, including a Biloxi Police officer. Seven were charged with aggravated assault, the majority on police officers, Miller told the council after the 2023 event.

That prompted the City Council to adopt special events ordinances for spring break and all other events in the city.

Miller estimated the spring break crowd at 15,000 to 20,000, compared with 30,000 last year. He attributes that, in part, to chatter on social media by people who said they were staying away after all the violence in 2023.

“That speaks volumes to me,” he said.

Miller said 3,000 to 5,000 people congregated around a small area near the Quality Inn on U.S. 90 over the weekend, which forced pedestrians to go out onto the highway to get past them. The service drive was shut down Friday and Saturday nights, he said, and police arrested several people who refused to clear the sidewalk as directed so that pedestrians didn’t have to go out into the roadway.

Next year’s spring break

Biloxi Councilman Paul Tisdale said he’s sure Biloxi will do spring break again next year.

Organizers and the city’s special events committee will work through parking and other concerns as required by the ordinances.

“I think we can iron out any wrinkles,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said.