By COLlive reporter
The Crown Heights neighborhood remained relatively quiet on Monday, Labor Day, as a million people paraded on Eastern Parkway for the annual West Indian-American Day Parade.
The annual parade marches down Eastern Parkway from Utica Avenue to Flatbush Avenue, with heavy police presence.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul was there, as well as New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, among many other politicians.
For the most part, the Jewish residents of Crown Heights kept away from the parade which celebrated Caribbean food, music and dancing with colorful costumes.
Local news reported that the Labor Day parade was once again marred by violence, as police are investigating a shooting on the parade route.
Five people were shot when a gunman targeting a specific group of people opened fire along the parade route around 2:35 p.m., NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said.
Police sources said a 69-year-old woman was shot in the back shoulder, a 64-year-old man was shot in the right arm, a 26-year-old man was shot in the head, a 25-year-old man was wounded in the abdomen and a 16-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to his left arm.
Two of the victims 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.”
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.”
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They should learn their lesson and cancel the parade for good
It’s very important to celebrate their “culture” of random shootings and public semi-nudity!
What a difference with our parades of love and unity, not hate and shootings…
Everyone would be happy with this arrangement.
They take up all the streets and trash the place. A huge disgrace to ch . They must do something about this – it’s a not a dumping place for people with feathers.
Don’t freak out abt my genius idea but maybe…… STOP HAVING A PARADE THAT ANUALLY ATTEMPTS COMMITING MURDER!!!! especially if the police aren’t capable of keeping these people tamed.
It is absolutely ABSURD that the EXPECTATION has now become that there will be gun violence at this event. If any other event had such a track record, it would be shut down permanently.
Should be celebrated by people that work and are productive
NOT BY COMMUNITY’S THAT ONLY KNOW TO TAKE FROM THE GOVERNMENT GENERATIONS AFTER GENERATIONS MILKING THE SYSTEM DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY
ENOUGH
There seems to be not a single year this doesn’t happen. It is something else.
Chuck Schumer is such a zero. I too, want tougher gun control but this spate of murders is not caused by the same issues as “gun violence in America.” it is about gang culture. Not about some lunatics who want to own AR15s. He is such a coward of a politician. An absolute embarrassment to our people.
Pointing a firearm is already illegal.
Threatening somebody is already illegal.
Shooting somebody (other than for self defense) is already illegal.
Killing somebody (other than for self defense) is already illegal.
We have more than enough gun control.
People need impulse control!
America has a crazy amount of guns and it’s unusual for any society. Israel for example doesn’t have this.
But, the shootings we see in that parade don’t have a relation to the gun “culture” of rural America.
Listen to Yoni Viloga tell his story.
The kibbutz that ignored the gun restriction laws had survivors on October 7th.
If you re still reading this: what Israel needs is to make sure its reservists are armed, and that trained guards are armed. I believe it is doing so. It does not need to get to a situation like what we have in the US, with almost everyone who wants a gun able to purchase one. Israel and the US have different problems, and the terrorist danger that Israel faces won’t be solved by adopting America’s own social sicknesses. But that’s off topic. And in any case, the violence at the parade in Brooklyn is not due to America’s permissive… Read more »
Stop fighting
The shooter’s still at large with that many officers present?!
How many other parades have records of shootings like this?
That’s why I am voting for Brad Landers for Mayor who will work with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams to close Rikers Island.
With no prisons, the criminals on the streets will kill each other off within a year or two and then the parade will be free of shootings.
That’s change you can believe in !
CH Outsider
We shuld recommend moving it from Franklin and on towards park slope
All (or most?) of the parades get to march on prime Manhattan streets. This west Indian parade they only to get to march in Brooklyn. Chutzpa!
They should upgrade their status and move to Manhattan where it belongs!
You don’t honestly think New York politicians would allow this parade to take place in Manhattan, do you? All those hypocritical, “liberal” leftist Democrats over on the upper East Side and and its environs would never allow it. NIMBY is alive and well in those areas.
P.S. Not to worry; of course it’s understood that your comment was made tongue in cheek.
They should move the Labor day parade to a different state,try something different,I believe that there is a lot of tension with the West Indian parade because the majority of people who live in New York are from different Caribbean Islands, some Carribeans on that very day is more recognized than others. Move it to a different state or cancel the parade. It’s not fair that Freaknik in Georgia has been canceled and no one was shoot or killed at that parade,yet still every year at Labor Day parade someone is shoot stab or injury due to violence.Who cares if… Read more »
I believe if more good people had guns then there wouldn’t be as many shootings
Whichever laws u put in place bad people will always get their hands on guns