Miami Fireworks Show Interrupted by 'Suspicious Package' Investigation

Bummers abounded amid the confusion, which resulted in what Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo called a "major disappointment."

fire
Getty

Image via Getty/Baac3nes

fire

An incident involving a suspicious package caused panic and confusion for some attempting to watch a fireworks show in downtown Miami Thursday.

Late July 4, the Miami Police Department tweeted out a message regarding the discovery of a "suspicious package" behind Bayside Marketplace. While a service road was closed in order for bomb squad officials to conduct an investigation into the contents of the item, no evacuations were reported for Bayside Marketplace or Bayfront Park.

However, according to local reports (including this one from NBC Miami), the fireworks show in question was cut short due to the incident.  

Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo called the abbreviated display a "major disappointment for a lot of people." Carollo, as The Miami Heraldpoints out, is the chairman of the Bayfront Park trust backing the yearly fireworks celebration, which is described as one of the biggest such displays in the Miami-Dade County area. The show was initially scheduled to run 15 minutes, though the 2019 edition is said to have ended after about seven minutes upon police instruction.

The owner of Firepower Displays Unlimited, the company that provides the fireworks and handles design elements for the show, lamented the cutoff of what was intended as a "gorgeous, beautiful" show that promised some fresh effects.

Early Friday, Miami police shared an updated statement noting that the suspicious package ultimately turned out to be merely a suitcase and had been determined to be safe following a controlled detonation. Still, some have criticized how the department handled the situation:

Latest in Life