Report: Gov. Cuomo staffer wounded by gunfire ahead of NYC West Indian Day parade
NEW YORK -- A staffer for New York governor Andrew Cuomo is among the injured after violence broke out in the run-up to New York City's West Indian Day Parade, Cuomo said.
The string of incidents occurred early Monday in Brooklyn.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says a Harvard-educated government lawyer - critically wounded in the head - was hit by an apparently random bullet while walking with his brother around 3:30 a.m. Carey Gabay is first deputy general counsel at the Empire State Development Corporation. His wife is pregnant with their first child.
Gabay joined the governor's administration in 2011, reports CBS New York.
"It is an instance and a moment that really brings home the pain and the pointlessness of this violence...the violence has to stop," Cuomo said, reports CBS New York. "This was a beautiful man, a sweet man."
Gabay, 43, was struck when shots were fired in a fight between two groups on the street, the station reported. Brooklyn detectives said the shooting appeared to involve gang crossfire.
Speaking Monday, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio condemned the violence.
"Our hearts are very heavy right now," de Blasio said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of this young aide to the governor, this young man who has devoted himself to public service....it is another reminder of a bigger fight we are engaged in every day, which is to get guns off our streets."
Police said they have leads in the case and a gun was recovered at the scene, but so far there are no arrests, according to CBS New York.
Other people were wounded in separate incidents hours before the massive parade. One of the city's biggest outdoor events, it has been marred in recent years by violence nearby. As many as 2 million people were expected to attend the Labor Day event, reports CBS New York.
A 24-year-old man died after he was stabbed in the torso around 2 a.m. in the Grand Army Plaza area.
The wounded included a 21-year-old man who was shot in the back, reports the station. He is listed in stable condition at an area hospital.