Five people were shot as a result of a dispute as thousands celebrated West Indian American Day in Brooklyn on Monday, according to police.
A high-ranking law enforcement source at the scene near Eastern Parkway and Franklin Avenue said that a gunman stood up on a parade barrier on the north side of Eastern Parkway service road and opened fire into the crowd.
An NYPD spokesperson told NBC New York that the annual parade, one of the world’s largest gatherings of the Caribbean diaspora, doesn’t appear to be the target of the shooting that left at least two people in critical condition.
An investigation is ongoing and a suspect hasn’t been arrested, NYPD officials said at a news conference near the Brooklyn Museum. Authorities are searching for a gunman in his 20s who was wearing a brown shirt with paint stains on it, as well as a black bandana.
“This was an intentional act by one person towards a group of people. We do not by no means have an active shooting or anything of that nature running around Eastern Parkway as we speak,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said, adding that the parade will continue through the night with heavy police presence.
Top NYPD brass, Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul were among those attending the parade on Monday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was also 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.”
Brooklyn, where hundreds of thousands of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants have settled, began hosting the parade in the 1960s.
