CASTRIES, St. Lucia– A senior government minister has expressed concern that a person appeared on a stage armed with a gun during a concert here over the last weekend
“We need to ask some serious questions. As far as I knew, the police took a position that they were not approving the show because the individual in question was someone who had been involved in singing and promoting music that glorifies crime and gun violence. And I know because I was discussing with the police force,” said Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information Minister Dr. Ernst Hilaire.
“The police were us that they were not going to approve it on the grounds of national security and events security,’ h,” held reporters, adding that the police had regarded the event on t Saturday night as a threat to the fight against gang crime.
He said the police also regarded it as a threat to the event because they were not satisfied that security was entirely in place.
Hilaire said that the police position was known late Friday and that despite that, somebody gave approval for the concert at the Darren Sammy Grounds, north of here, that featured Jamaican artiste Skillibeng and several leading local artistes.
“We need to know who that somebody is and under what circumstances they approved it,” Hilaire said, adding, “what assurances were given to that individual to make that decision?”
Hilaire said that the promoters of the Onyx concert would have to account for the person carrying an open-carry firearm on stage. Images of the gun-toting man have been circulating on social media, and the organizers have since apologized.
Hilaire told reporters the gun was not an ordinary firearm and that he had no information regarding whether the weapon had been authorized.
But he said he knew what he saw on stage and the photographs people overseas saw and sent back to St. Lucia.
Hilaire said that the police have established that once someone promotes or signs songs glorifying violence, they will not be allowed to perform in St. Lucia. Island’s creative space cannot have individuals with open-carry firearms on stage.
He said the government.
He said if a promoter misled the police, there would be a need for a serious discussion regarding that promoter’s role within Saint Lucia’s creative space.
“To say to me as the promoters did, it was incident free – so what is incident free? You mean there was no shoot-out, so it was a success?” Hilaire told reporters that someone on stage with an open-carry firearm constitutes an incident.
“It was pointed at the crowd. What if people had rushed the stage? What would have happened? Would you have shot the crowd?” Why was it necessary for an open-carry firearm on stage?” Hilaire said adding somebody needs to account for that.
“The promoters involved in this will have to account,” Hilaire declared.
and then 
