(NEW YORK POST) – At least two people were shot along the West Indian Day Carnival parade route in Brooklyn Monday — while the historically bloody J’Ouvert festival that precedes it was violence-free for a second year in a row.
The West Indian American Day Carnival, which spans Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights kicked off at 11 a.m. and remained calm until around 4:20 p.m. — when a man appeared to have shot himself in the leg during a dispute on Eastern Parkway near Franklin Avenue, authorities and police sources said.
His injuries were not life-threatening.
One person was later shot around 5:20 p.m. on Eastern Parkway near Rochester Avenue, cops said. The NYPD initially said three people were shot there, but later updated the number of gunshot victims and said the other two had actually been stabbed in the leg and the third was slashed in the hand.
All were expected to survive.
Also on the parade route, a 33-year-old man was slashed in the left arm on Eastern Parkway near Albany Avenue around 4:45 p.m., authorities said. His injuries were also not life threatening.
The motives were not immediately known.
Nearly three hours after the celebration officially ended, a 51-year-old man was fatally shot three blocks from the parade route, cops said.
The victim suffered multiple bullet wounds when gunfire erupted around 8:50 p.m. near the corner of Sterling Place and Schenectady Avenue, police said.
He was brought to Kings County Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
No arrests have been made as the probe is ongoing.
The incidents followed a bloodshed-free J’Ouvert, the pre-dawn annual celebration that kicks off the daytime carnival celebrating Caribbean heritage – and that’s been marred by violence in past years, the sources said.
Seven people were arrested for gun charges — five made by the NYPD’s Critical Response Team, and two by patrol officers, according to the sources. No additional details about the arrests were immediately available.
During a press conference last week, NYPD officials said the department would have thousands of officers on board to keep the 56th annual festival safe.
“Last year was one of our safest and most successful Labor Days on record, and we intend to achieve the same results this year,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said.
“The NYPD will have thousands of officers working throughout the weekend from all of our bureaus: patrol bureau, detective bureau, community affairs, intelligence, counterterrorism and many more,” Chell told reporters.
“Now for anyone who thinks they’re gonna come into this community this weekend with bad intentions, we all here stand together and we say not this weekend, nor any other weekends,” the NYPD official added. “Our police officers will be diligent, visible and some won’t be visible. They’ll be firm but fair to make sure everyone has an enjoyable weekend.”
Brooklyn cops also sent out letters to 40 borough gangbangers last week warning them to be on their best behavior ahead of the festivities.
Attendees at Monday’s parade — which celebrates Caribbean heritage and culture — are required to pass through one of 13 checkpoints set up along Eastern Parkway and they may be subjected to a random search, police officials said last week.
The department said it would deploy drones over the Labor Day holiday weekend to survey large, outdoor gatherings and barbeques that might get too rowdy, police officials said.
The NYPD’s fleet of unmanned aircraft were tasked with scoping out noise complaints and other non-emergency or 311 calls before officers arrive.
Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Edward Caban both insisted last week — amid public concerns — that “nobody’s going to be monitored” and that the crafts would merely be used as “an extra resource, a force multiplier.”
Last year, Hizzoner credited safety at the notoriously wild J’Ouvert celebration to the efforts of law enforcement officials and members of his administration’s civilian “Crisis Management Team.”
“We used the full scope of every agency and their capabilities,” Adams told reporters at the time. “And because of that, you saw a celebration without that traditional violence that was attached.
Past event-related violent incidents include the 2015 slaying of lawyer Carey Gabay, an aide to then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was caught in the crossfire during a shootout between rival gangs at the festival.
In 2020, five people were shot — including a 6-year-old boy and his mother — during an outdoor J’Ouvert celebration, cops said at the time.
The official J’Ouvert and the West Indian Day events were canceled that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but revelers decided to gather in the early hours anyway.
