West Indies Day parade disrupted by shooting that leaves one dead

This year, the 57th annual J’Ouvert and West Indies Day Parade took place over Labor Day weekend, Monday, September 2. Thousands of people marched down Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway to celebrate Caribbean pride, diaspora, and culture.

The celebrations officially began at 6 a.m. with J’Ouvert, meaning “dawn,” during which people danced in the streets to the accompaniment of a brass band, throwing paint, powder and oil as a symbol of freedom and cultural expression.

The closed route ran from Flatbush Avenue to Empire Boulevard in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It was equipped with flood lights and extra officers to check for alcohol and weapons, the city said. That portion of the event “was probably one of the safest J’ouverts we’ve had three years in a row,” thanks to the efforts of the Crisis Management Team (CMS), local clergy and the New York Police Department (NYPD), who removed at least 25 weapons from the streets, Mayor Eric Adams said at his Tuesday morning press briefing.

After J’Ouvert, the West Indian Day Carnival and Parade began at 11 a.m. on Eastern Parkway with giant floats, steel-pan and calypso bands, reggae and soca music, and elaborate masquerades (Mas) in fancy dress. The Mas event dates back to slavery days, when “Lords and Ladies” would gather on the plantation for masquerade balls. The route marched along the parkway from Utica Avenue to Grand Army Plaza.

Elected city and state officials, including state Attorney General Letitia James, Adams and City Hall staff, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson; Council Members Yusef Salaam, Sandy Nurse, Chris Banks, Crystal Hudson, Farah Louis, Rita Joseph; and Assembly Members Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, Brian Cunnigham, and Stefani Zinerman, were all spotted waving flags and marching with the parade participants.

Ariama C. Long photos

The festivities were briefly interrupted by a gunfire Monday afternoon, but the parade continued. The NYPD said that at 2:35 p.m. Monday, a black male shooter “intentionally” fired shots into the crowd at Eastern Parkway and Franklin Avenue. A 69-year-old woman was shot in the right arm, a 64-year-old man was shot in the right arm, a 36-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the head, a 25-year-old man was shot in the abdomen and a 16-year-old man was shot in the left arm. Police were unsure who the intended target was at the time of the shooting.

Adams maintained that the city was “proactive” and had a “well-executed” security plan, given all the circumstances. “How do you stop a lunatic from taking a gun and shooting into a crowd of five people?” Adams asked at the briefing. “There’s no way to tell you how many shootings we’ve prevented. Random acts of violence. We had police cover there.”

Five of the shooting victims were taken to Kings County Hospital. A 25-year-old man who was shot in the abdomen died from his injuries. He was later identified as Denzel A. Chan, who was from Spring, Texas.

“I know one person died,” Adams said. “Our hearts go out to the family members because you’re coming out to celebrate (and) you don’t want to go out and experience the violence that we’ve seen in the past.”

“I am saddened and horrified by today’s shooting at the West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn. My prayers are with the victims and their families during this difficult time. The parade is a beautiful display of culture and community that I have had the honor of participating in over the years, including this year,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who was also at the parade, said of the shooting. “Every American should be able to celebrate their heritage without the threat of gun violence. No one in Brooklyn, New York, or America will be safe until we remove weapons of war from our streets. America will not be its best self until we crush the scourge of gun violence once and for all.”

Adams vehemently rejected the idea of ​​canceling J’Ouvert and the parade in the future.

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