CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Cambridge has canceled its annual Caribbean Carnival celebration due to "safety concerns," the city announced.
"For the past 26 years, the Cambridge Carnival has been an important cultural event for the City of Cambridge and the greater region," the city announced in a released. "However, there have been increasing safety concerns associated with this year’s event due in part to the gun violence that occurred last weekend in the immediate vicinity of Boston’s Caribbean Carnival Parade."
The city said Friday it canceled the event after police received information that gangs were planning retaliatory violence connected to Boston's parade last weekend.
Cambridge officials say the city wants to ensure the festival will be a safe event.
The event has seen gun violence before. In 2017, two men were shot when a gunman opened fire into the crowd.
This year's event, previously scheduled for Sept. 8, has a rain date of Sept. 22. Organizers are hopeful they can work with the city and police on rescheduling, but as of now, there are no plans to.