Shooting Victim at New York's West Indian American Day Carnival Parade Has Died

NEW YORK, New York – The New York Police Department (NYPD) said one man has died after an unidentified gunman opened fire on spectators attending the 57th  Annual West Indian American Day Carnival Parade on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn on Monday.

The NYPD said at least five people were shot and wounded adding that 25-year-old Denzel Chan, of Texas, died at the Kings County Hospital in the heart of the Caribbean community in Brooklyn after being shot in the stomach by the assailant, who remains at large.

NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said four men and one woman, whose ages range from 16 to 69, were wounded when the gunman fired multiple shots at paradegoers.

“This was one person intentionally going after a group of people who tried to ruin the day for everybody. This was not random; this was an intentional act,” Chell said, adding that the gunman apparently stood on the concrete divider on Eastern Parkway and fired multiple shots into the crowd of nearby spectators.

“I hope they catch him,” Carol Dover, Chan’s aunt, told reporters, adding “we’re looking for justice. Denzel was a good person. He would speak quietly, no disrespect to no one”.

The NYPD identified the other victims, listed as in stable condition, only as a 69-year-old woman who was shot in the back right shoulder; a 64-year-old man who was shot in the right arm; a 36-year-old man who was shot in the head; and a 16-year-old male who was shot in the left arm.

The NYPD said the gunman, believed to be in his 20s, fled the scene on foot.

United States House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents Crown Heights, a section of his 8th Congressional District that encompasses parts of Brooklyn and Queens in New York, said he was “saddened and horrified” by the shooting.

“My prayers are with the victims and their families during this difficult time,” said Jeffries, adding “the parade is a beautiful display of culture and community that I have been honored to attend over the years, including this year. Every American should be able to celebrate their heritage without the threat of gun violence.

“No one in Brooklyn, New York or America is safe until we get weapons of war off our streets. America cannot be the best version of herself until we crush the scourge of gun violence once and for all.”

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, who also participated in the parade, said he was also saddened by the shooting.

“I pray for everyone affected,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We must keep working to end gun violence in America.”

Many paradegoers and masqueraders were totally unaware of the shooting that temporarily disrupted a part of the gigantic celebration.

The West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), organizer of the carnival, said over three million spectators viewed the  celebrations.