At least two people were shot along the route of the West Indian Day Carnival procession in Brooklyn on Monday, although the traditionally bloody J’Ouvert event that preceded it was peaceful for the second year in a row.
The West Indian American Day Carnival began at 11 a.m. and remained peaceful until around 4:20 p.m., when a man appeared to have shot himself in the leg following a quarrel on Eastern Parkway near Franklin Avenue, according to authorities and police sources.
His injuries did not endanger his life.
According to police, one victim was shot around 5:20 p.m. on Eastern Parkway near Rochester Avenue. The NYPD initially stated that three persons were shot there, but later revised the number of gunshot victims and stated that the other two had been stabbed in the leg and the third had been slashed in the hand.
A 33-year-old male was slashed on the left arm on Eastern Parkway near Albany Avenue around 4:45 p.m., according to authorities. His injuries were not also life-threatening.
The motivations were not immediately clear.
A 51-year-old man was fatally shot three blocks from the parade route, cops said, nearly three hours after the festivities officially finished.
When gunfire erupted around 8:50 p.m. near the intersection of Sterling Place and Schenectady Avenue, the victim received numerous bullet wounds, according to police.
According to authorities, he was taken to Kings County Hospital and pronounced dead.
The investigation is still underway, thus no arrests have been made.
The assaults occurred after a bloodless J’Ouvert, the pre-dawn yearly celebration that kicks off the daytime carnival celebrating Caribbean roots, which has been marred by violence in previous years, according to sources.
According to the sources, seven people were arrested on firearms charges, five by the NYPD’s Critical Response Team and two by patrol cops. Additional information regarding the arrests was not immediately available.
During a press conference last week, NYPD officials stated that the department will have thousands of officers on hand to ensure the safety of the 56th annual festival.
“Last year was one of our safest and most successful Labor Days on record, and we intend to achieve the same results this year,” said NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell.
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.
