Utica cancels Fourth of July party and fireworks following fatal shooting of teen

UTICA, N.Y. — Utica's annual Fourth of July Party in the Park and Fireworks has been postponed following the fatal officer-involved shooting of 13-year-old Nyah Mway last week.

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"In consideration of recent events," the City of Utica and Oneida County are postponing the Fourth of July celebrations.

According to WKTV, Vincent Scalise, the executive director of the Utica Center for Development who helped to organize the event, said the decision was made out of respect to the "time of mourning" in the City, not because of any security threats surrounding the celebration.

Utica Mayor Mike Galime told WKTV, "We wanted to preserve the symbolic nature of the Independence Day parade and what it represents, while also taking into account recent events," Galime said. "To do this we felt it was appropriate to postpone the Party in the Park which ends with its annual fireworks display."

The City of Utica will still hold its Independence Day Party at 10 a.m

All of the postponed events and displays will be rescheduled at a date to be announced in the near future.