The Cambridge Carnival, which celebrates Caribbean culture and heritage each year, won’t be happening this time around due to concerns about public safety.
This festival has been going strong for 26 years and was set for September 8.
According to organizers, the Cambridge police warned them that a gang might try to use the event to carry out a “retaliatory act” involving gun violence.
Just earlier this month, Boston saw several shootings in the hours leading up to its Caribbean carnival parade.
A man was tragically shot and killed on Westview Street in Franklin Field. Not long after, three others got hurt in separate shootings near Harambee Park.
“We were approached by the Cambridge police commissioner, who informed me that he had reliable intelligence that showed a gang was planning to use the carnival as a venue to stage a retaliatory act of gun violence and potentially putting thousands of residents at risk in a crossfire,” Nicola Williams, president of the Cambridge Carnival, told WBUR.
“The safety of the Cambridge community and those planning to participate in this event or any Cambridge event is paramount, and will always serve as the highest priority as it pertains to making difficult decisions like this,” said a joint statement from event organizers and the city.
The Cambridge Carnival group said they’ll work on other fall events “to celebrate and share our Caribbean heritage with pride.”
This article was originally published on August 30, 2019.
