The gunman who shot and wounded two people at this month’s West Indian Day Parade was aiming at a rival when he hit two strangers, police said Saturday.
New details of the shooting were shared as police released surveillance images of the gunman in the hopes that someone recognizes him.
The shooter, who had a Jamaican flag hanging from his waistband, was at the Sept. 7 parade near the corner of Eastern Parkway and Kingston Ave. in Crown Heights at about 4 p.m. when he got into an argument with another man.
During the spat, the suspect pulled a gun and opened fire, missing his rival completely, cops said.
Instead, he hit two other people, a 37-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man, cops said.
The woman was shot in the ankle, cops said. The young man suffered a graze wound to the foot.
The gunman ran off west on Eastern Parkway and was still being sought by authorities Saturday.
EMS rushed the woman to Kings County Hospital, where doctors treated her for a minor injury. The man who was grazed didn’t seek medical attention.
Three people were shot, and three people were stabbed, either on or near the parade route during and in the hours leading up to the West Indian Day Parade, officials said.
In a separate shooting just moments before, a 24-year-old man was shot in the buttocks near Kingston Ave. and Eastern Parkway, around 4:02 p.m., according to authorities. Police are still looking for two men, one wearing a grey shirt and one wearing a white shirt, in connection with that shooting.
Medics transported all three shooting victims to Kings County Hospital in stable condition.
In the lead-up to the parade, a 36-year-old man was stabbed in the face and two men, ages 23 and 32, were stabbed in the neck near Utica Ave. and Carroll St. in Crown Heights about 5:45 a.m., police said.
Medics took all three to Kings County Hospital, where the older man was listed in critical condition. The younger two men were in stable condition.
Cops have made no arrests.
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News
Police investigate after three people were stabbed on Utica Ave. and Carroll St. in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
The annual festivities draw millions to Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights to dance, eat, and celebrate Caribbean culture for Carnival. But in some recent years the revelries have been tarnished by shootings and stabbings.
Before the parade, Mayor Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced they’re ending the annual celebration a half hour early to try to prevent violence.
“In the past this parade has been accompanied by unacceptable violence, making it difficult for New Yorkers to celebrate joyfully and safely,” Mamdani said at the time.
Last year, six people were shot and wounded in three separate incidents and one person was slashed as the celebration wound down for the evening, according to cops. In 2024, a gunman jumped a barricade during the parade and wildly opened fire, wounding a 16-year-old gang rival and striking four others, killing a 25-year-old man.
Cops at the scene of the Sept. 7 double shooting recovered surveillance video of the gunman, which was released Saturday.
Cops are asking anyone with information regarding the gunman’s whereabouts to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.