A hip-hop and rap festival set to take the stage in Laval, Que., next week has been cancelled amid public safety fears.
Laval police spokesperson Jean-François Rouselle said the city is currently dealing with a rise in gun violence and conflicts linked to street gangs.
So far this year, Rouselle said there have been 32 shootings while the number of firearms seized is already equal to the total for all of last year.
Rouselle said some of the acts are known to promote gun culture on social networks while others boast of links to street gangs.
The fear was that the lineup might prove attractive to gang members.
“For us, it was really a big issue of public safety to have the gangs attending the event,” Rouselle said. “We’re afraid that because of the context of the shooting right now, there’s some bad incidents that could happen.”
The biggest concern, however, was that if violence did break out during the festival that an innocent bystander might get caught in the middle and be injured.
Antoine Latreille, who manages Raccoon, expressed his disappointment, especially as concerts and events are only now starting back up after pandemic lockdowns.
“Of course we find it’s a shame,” he said, adding they will now focus their energy on other endeavours.
“We’re not here to criticize, if the organizers of the festival and the police judge it’s the only option, so be it,” he said.
“For us, music has always been a way to address this type of issue in an artistic way. We will continue to work on our other projects.”
Organizers have promised to pay all the LVL UP artists despite the cancellation and to fully refund ticket holders.
— With files from Global News’ Gloria Henriquez
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