Doral city leaders held a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss ways to prevent another shooting at CityPlace.
The discussion came days after a security guard was killed and police were involved in a shootout with the suspect at Martini Bar.
Mayor Christi Fraga proposed two amendments to the current ordinance that allows nightclubs to be open until 3:59 a.m. — that nightclubs and bars close two hours earlier at 2 a.m. and businesses stop selling alcohol at 1:30 a.m. The amendment would also require the security guards at these businesses to have metal detectors at the entrance.
The city created the original ordinance in 2007 allowing nightclubs and bars to stay open until 3:59 am.
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Doral’s Vice Mayor and two other council members were missing from Wednesday’s workshop. Fraga and Councilman Rafael Pineyro were in attendance.
“We will never legislate human behavior, however, if we can put in measures that will prevent these types of incidents and also help our community stay safe and not lose that family feel then that's what we're going to do,” Fraga said. “I understand it may be a concern to them but at the end of the day the safety of our community and quality of life is what's most important.”
The proposed changes would impact seven businesses in the city, including Martini Bar and Champions Florida.
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Carolina Dorrego at Champions Florida Sports Bar & Restaurant said they already implement safety and security protocols, including metal detectors and procedures to make sure customers don't overdrink. She said while they support more security, changing the hours of operation would hurt their business.
“To limit our time frames will hurt because we work around these times to make our events safe and to do a good service,” Dorrego said.
NBC6 reached out to Martini Bar Wednesday afternoon about the proposed changes.
The city council will have a first reading of the amended ordinance on April 24 and a second reading on May 8.
According to Miami-Dade Police, 37-year-old Jamal Wayne Wood pulled out a gun and shot and killed 23-year-old George Alejandro Castellanos at Martini Bar on Northwest 83rd Avenue.
Castellanos, a security guard, had intervened when an altercation broke out inside the bar, police said.
Two Doral Police officers, whose identities were not released, responded to the scene and became involved in a shootout with Wood, who was eventually shot and killed, police said.
Several bystanders were injured during the shooting, police said. They were identified as Lester Williams Gonzalez, 28; Frank Miguel Jerez, 34; Yaniris Jerez, 30; Carlos Milan, 38; Sonia Munoz Torres, 48; and Gerard Patrick Delaney, 57. One of the victims was transported to a local hospital in critical condition while the rest were listed as stable.
According to the man who works security at the bar, it is protocol at Martini Bar to check for weapons at the door.
"Our thoughts are with all those involved," a statement from CityPlace Doral said in part. "The safety of our guests is always our top priority, and we have put a number of additional security measures in place."
