Police arrest homicide suspect while enforcing social distancing on Florida beach

Residents flock to beaches as coronavirus suspension partially lifted

Police have arrested a man suspected of homicide while patrolling a Florida beach to enforce social distancing measures, officials have said.

Jacksonville Beach police arrested Mario Matthew Gatti the beach on Sunday, only days after a number of the state's beaches were reopened in line with the governor's new regulations.

According to WJAX-TV police were patrolling Jacksonville Beach to make sure residents were practising social distancing guidelines.

The CBS affiliate reported that Mr Gatti was issued an arrest warrant in connection to the fatal shooting of a 33-year-old man in Arnold, Pennsylvania in January.

The police department posted a photo of the arrest on its Twitter account, with the comment: “This morning while officers patrolled the beach proper they captured a Fugitive from Justice, wanted in Arnold, Pennsylvania for Homicide. Good job!”

According to the broadcaster Mr Gatti was taken to the Duval County jail upon his arrest.

The arrest comes as a result of Governor Ron DeSantis' announcement on Friday that beaches in the state would be partially reopened after being locked down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Republican governor had previously been criticised for his reluctance to issue statewide stay-at-home orders and initial refusal to shut its beaches as the virus was spreading around the country.

As part of the new regulations, beaches will be open for nine hours during the day for “exercise only”, the city’s website said. People will be allowed to swim and run, but sunbathing, gathering in large groups and setting up chairs will remain banned.

Florida currently has over 26,000 recoded cases of the novel coronavirus as of Monday with at least 770 recorded deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.