CLINTON — The Town of Clinton’s annual Mardi Gras parade will not return in 2027, with Mayor Mark Kemp citing “the safety of citizens” as the reason for the cancellation. 

Mayor Kemp announced on Tuesday that he would deny a permit to event organizers following the January shooting that injured five people outside the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse. The shooting broke out less than 30 minutes into the “Mardi Gras in the Country” parade on Jan. 31.

The gunfire left one woman paralyzed and injured four others, including a six-year-old.

Kemp worries that the event has outgrown the town’s infrastructure, telling WBRZ “our staff is very small.”

Local nonprofit Feliciana Family and Friends, which has been sponsoring the event, posted a statement to Facebook voicing their displeasure.

“We would like to take this time to thank everyone that came out to support us tonight at the Town Of Clinton meeting. The decision was made by the Mayor not to have anymore 'Mardi Gras Parades' in the town,” the statement read. “The town council gave the mayor full authority to make the decision by his self. Council Woman Kim Wilson was the only one that stood up for her community.  We have 2 years to get the right people in the right places in this town or we will never move forward. Other towns come together and do things and get the job done but not this town.”