City of Doral discusses potential changes after Martini Bar shooting

DORAL, FL – The shooting that left two people dead and seven more injured inside Martini Bar at City Place Doral on Saturday, April 6, at around 3:30 a.m. prompted City of Doral Mayor, Christi Fraga, to call for a meeting on April 10, at 3:00 p.m., with the purpose of discussing the current security scenario and the code amendments needed to reduce the possibility of these type of incidents from happening again.

Initially, the session was going to be an emergency council meeting in which the goal was to make decisions. However, in the absence of council members Maureen Porras, Digna Cabral and Vice Mayor Oscar-Puig Corve, that previously announced they wouldn’t be able to attend, it had to be turned into a workshop.

“I had to change the council meeting to a workshop so that two of us -Council member Rafael Pineyro and Mayor Fraga- could still meet with the proper administration, receive the report and then move forward on bringing an item that will amend our code,” the mayor explained to the public.

During the public comments portion of the session, some of them said they were not pleased with the fact that not all council members were present at the meeting, urging city officials to not bring political differences into this but rather unite for the common good. They also said there are other places in Miami-Dade for partying, but Doral is not one of them due to its family-friendly environment. 

For the meeting, Mayor Fraga considered several items: a report of all incidents at City Place establishments, a list of all nightclubs and entertainment establishments in Doral, and the special permits that have been granted to know who would be affected, a legal opinion from the City Attorney on rollbacks of these permits, and a report of the investigation details regarding incidents on April 6 at City Place.

Interim City Manager, Kathie Brooks, who prepared an incident detailed report of City Place from 2019 to the present, stated there are 7 entertainment establishments in the city, 4 of which have been granted an extended license. 

In light of all this and after reviewing all given documentation, Mayor Christi Fraga suggested the following code amendments, among others: to limit until 2:00 a.m. the hours of operation open to the public, to require establishments to have a security company in charge of placing a mobile metal detecting device for additional security measures that must be utilized for the entrance of any patrons into the establishment, adding a $5000 fine for first offenders, and selling alcoholic beverages for consumption on premises until 1:30 a.m.

These changes will be brought forward in an ordinance on April 24 for a first reading in a council meeting and a legal review must be conducted by the Attorney’s office.