Community members were forced to cancel a meeting involving Canadian police on learning about gang violence over alleged threats of violence against the meeting.
The informational meeting held by the Pleasant Hill Community Association was supposed to feature appearances from Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) to educate about gang violence and involvement. However, the meeting was canceled over "threats of potential violence," as reported by CTV News.
"The 'Learning About Gangs' event was cancelled Wednesday, Jan. 22, and we want to clarify some surrounding information. The Saskatoon Police Service Guns and Gangs Unit cancelled [the] event because there were threats of potential violence at the meeting," PHCA said on Facebook.
While SPS said they were not aware of any threats, the service said that they decided to cancel their participation because the information they had planned to share was not fit for larger public knowledge, as reported by 650 CKOM.
"When we learned that the meeting would be open to the public, we had to withdraw our participation. The information shared in these sessions often includes investigative details that cannot be disclosed publicly," police said in a statement obtained by 650 CKOM.
PHCA said that they had also invited STR8 UP, an non-profit working to help those previously involved in criminal lifestyles, at the meeting "to start a dialogue" with community members about gang involvement.
Originally published on Latin Times
