West Indian Day parade: Andrew Cuomo staffer shot before annual event
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Version 0 of 1. As thousands of New Yorkers took to streets in Brooklyn on Monday for the West Indian Day parade, one man was stabbed to death and two were shot and wounded. One of the men shot was identified as Carey Gabay, previously an assistant counsel to New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, who was an honorary marshal at the parade. “Carey is an outstanding public servant who joined our administration in 2011,” Cuomo said in a statement. “He is a Harvard-educated lawyer who works for the state because he wants to give back to others and make a difference. He is just 43 years old and is a kind-hearted man.” Cuomo asked New Yorkers to keep Gabay and his family in their prayers. “This tragic shooting – this one by another seemingly random bullet – is the latest heartbreaking reminder that the crime of gun violence must stop,” the governor said. “Enough young, innocent people have died, and it must stop now.” Gabay was in critical condition at Kings County hospital in Brooklyn. “I’m the governor of the state of New York, and there’s not a thing I can do,” Cuomo told reporters after visiting Gabay’s family at the hospital. “There’s not a thing I can say, and there’s nothing I can do. And sometimes it just hurts.” According to the NYPD assistant chief Patrick Conry, Gabay was shot at about 3.40am. Pre-parade festivities, known as j’ouvert, often begin as early as 3am. “We do have some leads we’re following. We have recovered a firearm,” Conry said. “Based on ballistics we recovered, it appears there are two groups of people shooting back and forth at each other.” No arrests had been made, police said. The identities of two other men – one killed and one wounded – were not immediately available. One, aged 24, was stabbed to death 90 minutes before Gabay was shot. A 21-year-old was shot and wounded. The parade has become associated with violence. Last year, after one man was shot dead and four were injured around the parade, New York’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, said the vast majority of those attending had “a wonderful time and only a few individuals get out of line”. In 2013, a one-year-old boy sitting in his stroller was killed by a bullet meant for his father. In 2012, two people were stabbed to death and two were shot. In 2011, two police officers were injured by gunfire. This year, De Blasio and the police commissioner, Bill Bratton, said the New York police department was working with local leaders to make the parade safer. A heavy police presence lined the route, and several helicopters hovered overhead. The parade went on as scheduled and drew thousands of people to a stretch along Eastern Parkway. Throbbing basslines pulsated, propelling outlandishly clad revellers to dance and those on the sidelines to bob their heads as they ate indigenous foods. “This is our heritage. It means so much to me to see all these colors and music,” said Alicia Jackson of Brooklyn. “It’s one of my favorite days of the year.” Politicians dotted the route. De Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, who is of Caribbean descent, drew cheers as they waved flags, shook hands and posed for photographs. The march and an official pre-parade breakfast were the first public events since July which Cuomo and De Blasio, who are locked in a simmering dispute, were both scheduled to attend. Their paths did not cross. Cuomo left the breakfast about 10 minutes before De Blasio arrived. The two men, both Democrats, marched separately. At the breakfast, Cuomo was asked if he planned to speak to the mayor. The governor responded by asking, “Is he here?” Told no, Cuomo glared and bluntly said: “There’s your answer.” Hours after the parade, Cuomo and several other elected officials were planning to fly to Puerto Rico to offer advice to the island government, which is grappling with a debt crisis. De Blasio was not invited. The Associated Press contributed to this report. |