As St. Vincent and the Grenadines prepares to host its first national Vincymas carnival following the recent eruption of inter-gang conflict across the country, law enforcement officials have unveiled a strict new security measure: all licensed civilian firearm holders will be barred from bringing weapons into Independence Park during festival events.
Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Trevor “Buju” Bailey made the announcement official during a press briefing held by the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) in Kingstown on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Notably, Bailey referenced the venue by its former name, Victoria Park, which was officially renamed last October.
To accommodate the new rule without unnecessary inconvenience to licensed gun owners attending shows, Bailey confirmed that police will operate a dedicated temporary storage booth just outside the park’s entrance. The facility will be staffed by uniformed police officers, who will manage a formal check-in and check-out process. Visitors with legally held firearms will be required to register their weapon in an official log, leave it in police custody for the duration of their time in the park, and complete a second sign-off when collecting their property at the end of their visit. Bailey also issued a clear recommendation that gun owners verify the serial number of their weapon upon collection to ensure they retrieve the correct firearm.
Under the new restriction, only on-duty police officers assigned to security detail for Vincymas 2026 will be permitted to carry firearms within park grounds during festival events.
The policy comes against a tense backdrop: this year’s Vincymas marks the first national carnival held after violent clashes between two rival gangs, 6ixx and 7even, spread across multiple communities in the country. Bailey stressed that law enforcement has already successfully overseen a series of smaller regional rural carnival events without any recorded incidents of violence, crediting close collaborative work between the police force and event organizers.
Repeating CDC’s framing of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force as the organization’s “number one partner” in delivering a safe celebration, Bailey emphasized that the longstanding working relationship between the two groups remains strong this year. From crowd management and public behavior monitoring to restrictions on glass containers and the new firearms rule, Bailey positioned layered security planning as the core foundation of this year’s festival.
The senior officer also issued a direct public warning to any individuals seeking to bring gang-related violence into the capital Kingstown during Vincymas. “If you bring any 6ixx and 7even violence into Kingstown, you will come head on with number one,” Bailey said, referencing the police force. “We get serious when it comes to that.”