For all of their “peace talks,” rallies and increased security, this year’s West Indian Day Parade fell short of it’s intended anti-violence initiative that local elected officials and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) championed.
Within the relative footprint of this year’s festival, at least four people get shot and another two stabbed in a string of bloodshed and violence over the Labor Day weekend.
According to initial reports, a 38-year-old man was shot in the abdomen and a 34-year-old was grazed in the left leg at around 5 a.m. on Monday just as the festivities were to commence, cops said. Both were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Later in the day, at around 5 p.m., another person was shot in his torso along the parade route and hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
However, Assembly member Walter T. Mosley (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights) touted the increased safety tactics as successful, pointing out that the incidents did not officially occur during the parade’s hours.
“These incidences were unfortunate and my thoughts and prayers are with those injured. However, it is important to remember that these incidents did not take place within the official parameters of the J’ouvert festival. I think the addition of 12 security checkpoints and moving up the pre-dawn celebrations to 6 a.m. were effective safety precautions and I look forward to seeing them implemented into future celebrations,” said Mosley.
This year, officials took measures to increase security and safety at the annual event including changing the parade’s start time from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., closing the parade route to the general public the night before, increasing the number of uniformed officers by 10 percent, providing security at 12 secure entry points, increasing the number of light towers and security cameras across the parade route, as well as screening participants and revelers for weapons and alcoholic beverages.
Council member Laurie Cumbo (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill) echoed the same sentiments even commenting that this year’s events went unmarked by death.
“J’Ouvert and the West Indian American Day Carnival is a time-honored tradition for spectators of all ages to celebrate and express Caribbean culture through music, dance, colorful costumes, and food. Although these festivities have often been overshadowed by the ongoing violence that continues to plague communities of color year-round, this year’s incidents resulted in no fatalities. Despite the non-life threatening injuries that were sustained along the parade route, I remain steadfast in my commitment to create a safer environment for paradegoers. It is paramount that we maintain the anti-violence conversations with community stakeholders to advance our efforts towards a more peaceful event for future generations,” said Cumbo.
According to earlier reports, Sunday night leading up to the big event, saw the only fatality during a double shooting event two hours apart. David Dottin, 49, was shot in the head around 9 p.m., while enjoying a calm night away from the festivities with family and friends. Dottin was later rushed to Kings County Hospital where he was pronounced dead with a single gunshot wound to the head.
The second shooting happened at the corner of Schenectady Avenue and St. Johns Place around 11:15 p.m, where a 44-year-old was shot in the torso and was critically wounded, said cops. So far there have been no arrests in any of the incidents.
City Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Flatbush, East Flabush, Midwood) seemed to be the only official to recognize the incidents as “unfortunate acts of violence” but also made note to highlight the fact that gun violence is prevalent throughout the city not just during J’ouvert or Labor Day weekend but at all times.
“Gun violence continues to be a sickness from which our society continues to grapple for a solution, even as we learned just today that our city is currently experiencing record-low numbers in overall crime. This weekend, communities that deal with violence throughout the year unfortunately did so again,” said Williams.
This year’s shootings mark the third consecutive year that incidents surrounding the Labor Day parade festivities has claimed a life. In 2016, 17-year-old Tyreke Borel and 22-year-old Tiarah Poyau were killed when a brazen gunman opened fire into a crowd of people at the event. In 2015, 45-year-old Carey Gabay was fatally shot in the head when he stumbled into a gang fight. Gabay was a lawyer in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration at the time.
“Incidents that occurred, particularly those that took place in Brooklyn near this year’s annual J’Ouvert and West Indian Carnival Parades, were indicative of the systemic gun violence that takes place year-round. We must continue discussions on how to make all the city’s celebrations safer. We cannot hope to turn the tide unless we systematically begin to address gun violence in our city by responding with more than law enforcement we must continue to expand our multi-agency approach which addresses the underlying causes,” added Williams.
