Boston: A Massachusetts city home to one of the nation’s largest Cape Verdean communities will impose a nighttime curfew ahead of Cape Verde’s World Cup match on Friday (Saturday AEST) after police said recent post-game celebrations were marred by shootings, stabbings and other violence, prompting city officials to request National Guard assistance.
Brockton Mayor Moises Rodrigues announced what he called a “temporary safety curfew” within the Boston suburb at a news conference on Wednesday. Cape Verde, an island nation off the west coast of Africa that qualified for the World Cup for the first time this year, is scheduled to face Argentina on Friday in the knockout stage of the tournament.
“The purpose of this curfew is to protect public safety, reduce criminal activity associated with post-game celebrations, and enable police, fire and emergency personnel to effectively maintain order and respond to emergencies,” Rodrigues said.
The curfew will run from 10pm Friday until 5am Saturday in parts of Brockton, where thousands of people have gathered after Cape Verde’s World Cup matches, pouring into downtown streets waving flags, dancing and celebrating late into the night. No one will be allowed to enter establishments serving alcohol after 7pm, and last call will be at 9.30 pm.
