5 shot at West Indian American Day Parade – police

NEW YORK (AP):

Five people were shot Monday at New York City’s West Indian American Day Parade, police said. It’s the latest instance of violence marring one of the world’s largest annual celebrations of Caribbean culture.

A gunman targeting a specific group of people opened fire along the parade route in Brooklyn around 2:35 p.m., NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said.

The parade had kicked off hours earlier, with thousands of revellers dancing and marching down Eastern Parkway, a main thoroughfare through the borough. It was expected to continue into the night.

Two people were critically wounded, Chell said. The three other victims are expected to survive their injuries, he said. The gunman fled.

“This was not random,” Chell said. “This was an intentional act by one person towards a group of people. We do not by no means have any active shooter or anything of that nature running around Eastern Parkway as we speak.”

An Associated Press videographer who was nearby when the shots rang out saw at least two people being treated next for what appeared to be wounds to the face and arm.

Police cordoned off an area adjacent to the parade route, where they had placed crime scene markers. The parade continued flowing past as officers were seen bagging items.

Chell asked that bystanders provide police with any video footage they may have recorded of the shooting.

“We need that video,” Chell said. “We are going to solve this, but it’s going to take a lot of work.”

Some people attending the parade were shaken by the violence.

“I’m crying over this, it’s so terrible. How can someone have the heart to fire a gun around so many people – babies, children, the elderly,” Jalissa Bailey told the New York Post.

“I know this parade has a history of violence, but things have been peaceful in recent years, and we got to hoping that there was enough security in place that maybe that was over with,” Bailey said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was marching in the parade at the time and completed the route.

“I’m pained and troubled by the horrible shooting that took place as we were marching together at the West Indian Day Festival and Parade in Brooklyn,” Schumer posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Thank you to our 1st responders on the scene. I pray for everyone affected. We must keep working to end gun violence in America.”

The parade, an annual Labor Day event in its 57th year, turns Eastern Parkway into a kaleidoscope of feather-covered costumes and colourful flags as participants make their way down the thoroughfare alongside floats stacked high with speakers playing soca and reggae music.

The parade routinely attracts huge crowds, who line the almost two-mile (3.2-kilometre) route that runs from Crown Heights to the Brooklyn Museum. It’s also a popular destination for local politicians, many of whom have West Indian heritage or represent members of the city’s large Caribbean community.