Good news: Miramar sees dramatic drop in homicides and overall crime in 2025
The city of Miramar appears to be closing out 2025 with three homicides — a 57% decrease from last year’s homicide count, city officials said.
And barring a crime wave in the final weeks of the year, overall crime in Miramar will be down “between 20 and 25%,” Chief Delrish Moss told the Miramar News on Friday, Dec. 12.
Moss credited the decline to the department’s proactive work on all types of crime.
The sharp drop in homicides is especially significant, and signals that Miramar police’s crime-fighting strategies appear to be paying off, said the chief, who took the job more than two years ago.
In 2024, the city, which has a population of about 140,000 residents, registered seven homicides within its city limits. The drop to three homicides in 2025 could indicate a steady decline in violent crime inside Miramar.
“I think the reasons are two-fold,” Moss said. “For years, a lion’s share of the homicides in the city have been domestic-related. I think the drop has a lot to do with our program where social workers come to the scene along with officers. We are also offering safe spaces for an individual in fear of harm, but where a crime has not yet been committed against them.”
The homicide decline is especially notable in a region where neighboring cities continue to grapple with higher levels of violent crime.
Of the three homicides in Miramar in 2025, the first of the year appears to be the killing of Anthony Souvenir, 27, of North Miami Beach. It occurred the morning of on Feb. 3 inside a Walgreens at 2499 SW 101st Ave., near Miramar Boulevard and Palm Avenue.
According to police, the shooting began as an argument between Souvenir — who was celebrating his birthday that day — and another customer, who was standing by a cash register while talking on the phone.
Surveillance video and witness accounts later showed that Souvenir walked in with his girlfriend and their infant son and passed by the other customer. Souvenir circled back and confronted the man over what he perceived as the man “looking too hard” at Souvenir’s his girlfriend, according to the Miramar police report, the Miami Herald reported.
The other customer told police he opened fire as Souvenir reached for a gun inside a backpack. A wounded Souvenir ran after him , firing his weapon, but collapsed in front of the store, police said. He was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital in critical condition and later died from his injuries.
The customer involved was arrested in connection with the shooting and initially faced a murder charge.
But in April, the Broward State Attorney’s Office dropped all charges against him , agreeing that the shooting likely occurred in self-defense, WPLG reported. Prosecutors found he was justified in using force under the state’s Stand Your Ground law.
This story was originally published December 12, 2025 at 5:29 PM.
