NYC West Indian American Parade sees unwelcome return of shootings

A kaleidoscope of flags from at least a dozen Caribbean nations waved along Eastern Parkway as the West Indian American Parade kicked off Monday in Brooklyn with more police and hopes of a violence-free festival after one person was killed and four others wounded last September.

The smell of grilling meat mingled with clouds of cannabis smoke as reggaeton and soca boomed from thousands of speakers up and down the nearly 2-mile route. Friends embraced friends while toddlers and grannies danced in the street. Vendors sold flags, banners and T-shirts declaring West Indian pride. Food stalls offered Caribbean comfort favorites — oxtails, goat, steamed red snapper and jerk chicken.

But late Monday, after the final float had passed, six people were shot and wounded in three separate incidents along the route or in the vicinity, according to the NYPD. The victims were all transported to hospitals for treatment.

Earlier, street sellers had hawked soda, beer and "nutcrackers," sweet fruit juice mixed with liquor. And amid all the music and singing and dancing, President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration remained top of mind for some immigrants and their supporters in attendance. Since returning to office in January, Trump has stepped up deportation efforts on Long Island and nationwide and made it more difficult for immigrants to remain in the country legally.

Trump and his top immigration aides have said they are focused on deporting violent criminals. But authorities have also swept up many immigrants without prior criminal records or only misdemeanors offenses, according to a Newsday story in July.

"America was really built on immigrants itself, and they should allow us a chance and an opportunity to have a better life for our families back home and to really contribute to the United States," said Shakiah Phillips, an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago who was working at a vegan food booth near the Brooklyn Museum on Monday. "We can do a lot for the United States."

Sharee Kinch, who said she was "Brooklyn born and raised," worked at a food stand near the parade on Franklin Avenue. Deporting immigrants, she said, isn’t making the nation safer.

"I don’t think it is fair," Kinch said, "especially for the ones who have been here and are doing everything the right way. ... Yes, if they have done something criminal, they should not be here. But for the ones who are not criminals, they should be left alone and raise their families and work and do what they have been doing for years."

The festivities have been impacted by gun violence in the past and late Monday, the NYPD reported multiple shootings in and around the parade route. A man was shot in the leg and a woman grazed by a bullet about 5:35 p.m. on Eastern Parkway. Sanitation crews were cleaning up at the time, according to the NYPD.

About 10 minutes later, on the parkway and Classon Avenue, a 36-year-old man was shot multiple times in the shoulder and a 21-year-old man was shot in the chest. Both were taken by EMS to NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County in stable condition, the NYPD said. A short time later, two men, one 53 and the other 40, were both shot on Nostrand Avenue at Sterling Street, blocks from the festivities.

The 53-year-old victim was shot in the neck while the other man suffered a gunshot wound to the left ankle, the NYPD said. Both were in stable condition late Monday at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. A male person of interest was in custody in connection with that shooting and charges were pending, according to the NYPD.

The department had beefed up security for this year’s parade after the 2024 shootings along the parade route. Thousands of NYPD officers patrolled Eastern Parkway on Monday.

In 2015, crossfire from an alleged gang dispute killed Carey Gabay, 43, an aide to then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, during a predawn street celebration before the parade.

Mayor Eric Adams, running for reelection as an independent, cut a ceremonial ribbon with Gov. Kathy Hochul to start the parade. State Assemb. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, was there, along with Republican Curtis Sliwa and Cuomo, also running as an independent.

One stall sold T-shirts mocking Trump — he’s wearing clown makeup in some. Activists handed out fliers urging paradegoers to surround the White House, Capitol and Supreme Court in nonviolent protest against the Trump administration on Nov. 5, the one-year anniversary of his reelection.

"Why does he not like immigrants? What have we done to him? Nothing," said John Martin, originally from Jamaica and now a Bronx resident.

"People got to stand up," added Martin, who said he is a voter and a registered Democrat. "People have to say enough is enough."