Armed standoff on Brazil Street postpones St. John’s Christmas parade
The Downtown St. John’s Christmas Parade has been postponed due to an armed standoff on Brazil Street.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary are asking people to avoid the Brazil Street area, specifically the block containing Lemarchant Road, Casey Street and Barters Hill.
According to RNC Media Relations Officer James Cadigan, the officers have contained a property and are communicating with people inside.
However, Cadigan said the police still had safety concerns due to the high volume of both vehicle and foot traffic that the parade would bring to the area.
The announcement to postpone the parade was made a half hour before the parade was supposed to start.
Gaylynne Gulliver, the special events manager with Downtown St. John’s, said the police asked them to shut down the event in the interest of public safety.
“There’s no need for anybody to panic,” Gulliver said, speaking from the area where the parade was supposed to begin.
“But we’ve been asked to evacuate all of our parade people out of the downtown because we have an extra 50,000 people coming here this afternoon for this event.”
Gulliver said the organization enacted its emergency plan.
“Our shuttles have stopped bringing people into downtown St. John’s. The shuttles are now… coming to Harbour Drive,” she said.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Downtown St. John’s said “the RNC continue to contain the situation and the cancellation of the event is to prevent risk to the community and the thousands of spectators passing through the area.”
The parade is now slated to go ahead next Sunday, Dec. 3rd at noon.
In a post on X, the RNC is urging people leaving the parade area to avoid Brazil Street “to prevent risk of escalating the ongoing response.”
Several police vehicles are in the area, including a tactical unit truck.
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