7 people shot at Boston’s Caribbean Carnival; Council prez calls for 2nd parade to be canceled

Seven people have been shot, all with non-life threatening injuries, at today’s Caribbean Carnival as City Council President Ed Flynn urges the day’s second parade to be called off.

Police are on the scene in force in Dorchester and the wounded have been taken to the hospital. Firearms have been recovered, police added.

The call came in at 7:44 a.m. for an active shooting on Blue Hill Avenue and Talbot Avenue, according to police.

“We’re praying for the recovery of the victims, and grateful to the police and first responders who were on the scene,” At-large City Councilor Erin Murphy told the Herald. “This is an event for children, on a Saturday morning, and it’s appalling that bad actors would visit violence and evil on it.”

Flynn said this morning police have been “confiscating guns” in the neighborhoods but a more “comprehensive plan” is needed to address gun violence.

He’s also calling for the city to cancel today’s second parade scheduled for 1 p.m. — telling the Herald “based on the violence from this morning and not having enough police officers in the city, we should cancel it.”

Festival staff did not pick up the phone nor immediately return an email requesting comment on the incident or the status of the event moving forward today.

The annual Caribbean Carnival features two separate parades. The first parade, the J’ouvert Parade, started at 6:30 AM on Talbot Avenue at Kerwin Street and proceeds up Blue Hill Avenue to the Circuit Drive Entrance (Peabody Circle) for Franklin Park.

The second and main parade, the Caribbean Carnival, begins at 1 p.m. on Warren Street at Martin Luther King Boulevard and proceeds on Warren Street to Blue Hill Avenue ending on Blue Hill Avenue at the Circuit Drive Entrance (Peabody Circle) for Franklin Park.

Formation for the Carnival Parade occurs on Martin Luther King Boulevard between Warren Street and Washington Street.