Pockets of gun and knife violence, including a fatal shooting, put a damper on Monday’s J’Ouvert and West Indian-American Day Parade celebrations in Brooklyn.
When just a few minor fist fights broke out during the pre-dawn celebrations of J’Ouvert on Sept. 4, the cultural festivities seemed as if they would pass by without incident. However, by the evening, things took a turn for the worse.
According to police sources, things first began to go awry around 4:20 p.m. when a brawl on Eastern Parkway near Franklin Avenue ended with one of the men apparently accidentally shooting himself in the leg during the melee. He survived his injuries.
A second fight erupted on 1187 Eastern Parkway at around 5:21 p.m., when three people got into an altercation, authorities reported. During the argument, one person allegedly pulled out a gun and fired several shots — one of which struck the windshield of a fire truck. Cops report that a 19-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks and was rushed to Kings County Hospital while a 20-year-old man who was slashed in the hand refused medical treatment on the scene. A third victim, who police say is a 16-year-old boy, was stabbed in the right leg and was whisked to Brookdale Hospital. All three are expected to survive. No firefighters were injured, and no arrests have been made as a result of this incident.
Later that night, police rushed to 1337 Sterling Place at 8:49 p.m. after a report of gunfire. Cops say they discovered a 51-year-old man with a series of gunshot wounds all across his body. EMS rushed the unnamed individual to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No arrests have been made, yet police say they are seeking to question a man wearing a black shirt who fled the scene on foot.
Later in the night at around 9:19 p.m., responding officers found an unidentified man, believed to be in his 50s, who had been slashed on 256 Maple Street. Police sources say the individual suffered a deep laceration to his left wrist and was rushed to Kings County Hospital in critical condition. Police are still investigating exactly how the incident took place.
The NYPD set up some 13 security checkpoints along the parade route in order to mitigate the possible use of weapons. According to police sources, cops confiscated seven guns as of Monday evening.
