Five people were hit in a rain of bullets fired by a single gunman Monday as thousands of revelers enjoyed the annual West Indian Day Parade, one of Brooklyn’s biggest ethnic celebrations, police said.
The bloody bullet barrage exploded on Eastern Parkway near Franklin Ave. in Crown Heights about 2:30 p.m. At a news conference an hour later, police officials confirmed a total of five people had been shot, and that two were in critical condition, with the remaining three victims expected to survive.
“This was an intentional act by one person towards a group of people,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said. “We do not, by no means, have any active shooter or anything of that nature. …This is not random. This is [an] intentional act, one person going to a group, firing his weapon.”
A stunned 35-year-old woman who witnessed the carnage told the Daily News, “There were lots of shots.”
“It was in the middle of the parade with people all around,” she recounted. “Crazy.”
The woman, who lives in the neighborhood, said she saw two people who were shot lying on the ground, recalling that “one was hit in the head and the other was hit in the body. They were bleeding, but they were talking to the police.”
Another paradegoer told The News that she was also shocked by the violence, recounting, “It happened right over there in front of the red-and-blue food tents. I couldn’t believe it. In the middle of the West Indian Day Parade. Unbelievable.”
Chell said it was too early to tell if all of the people who were shot were intended victims.
“We’re still working through that,” he said. “When you fire a gun into a large crowd, we got to figure out who is intending, who is not. We do not know that right now.”
The parade continued despite the shootings.
“It will go on to later on tonight,” Chell said. “We have multiple cops working very hard this weekend and working very hard today to keep this community and to keep this parade safe. And we’ll be out here to the wee hours in the morning doing that, just that, working hard keeping this community safe.”
Police are asking that anyone with video call (800) 577-TIPS.
“We need that video. We are going to solve this, but it’s going to take a lot of work,” Chell said.
The shooting occurred just hours after Mayor Adams boasted about parade safety, telling reporters, “We knew we could celebrate and be safe at the same time.”
The NYPD deployed a fleet of drones, carefully placed surveillance cameras, and sent a massive number of officers to cover the weekend’s J’Ouvert celebration and West Indian Day Parade, which last year was marred by violence following the parade, including a deadly shooting, a fight that erupted in gunfire and an incident in which a man apparently shot himself in the foot, cops said.
“The parade is a celebration of joyous expression of cultural heritage, and gun violence should have no place at this event or in our communities,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who earlier marched in the parade, said in a statement. “Many thousands of people gathered on the Parkway in peace and unity with their families and neighbors, yet one person came armed with violent intent. I am sure we’ll learn much more about this shooting in the coming hours and days, and my heart is with not only those who were directly harmed, but the community of New Yorkers feeling pain and fear in a moment which should be festive.”
This is a developing story. Check back for further updates.
With Chris Sommerfeldt
