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NEW YORK: At least six people were shot and another was stabbed in separate incidents following the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn on Monday, the New York Police Department (NYPD) said.The violence occurred across four locations in Crown Heights between late afternoon and early evening as parade crowds dispersed, reported to Fox News 5.No arrests have been made so far.The first shooting occurred around 5.35 pm near 1098 Eastern Parkway, where a woman in her 40s was grazed in the back and a man in his 20s was shot in the leg. Both were hospitalized in stable condition.About 40 minutes later, a man was stabbed near Eastern Parkway and Nostrand Avenue but declined medical care.At 6.46 pm, two men were shot in the shoulder near Classon Avenue, and both were later reported stable. Minutes after, at 6.55 pm, a 53-year-old man was critically wounded in the neck and leg outside a Nostrand Avenue restaurant, while a woman in her 40s was shot in the ankle and treated in stable condition.The NYPD has not confirmed any links between the incidents as of yet.The violence unfolded despite an increased police presence along the parade route. There were reportedly 13 checkpoints along Empire Boulevard and Nostrand Avenue, where spectators were screened with handheld metal detectors.”This will be the largest police deployment of the year, even bigger than our deployments for New Year’s Eve in Times Square, even bigger than our deployments for July 4th,” police commissioner Jessica Tisch was quoted as saying on Friday.New York City’s West Indian American Day Parade, one of the world’s largest Caribbean festivals, kicked off on Monday with colourful costumes, flags, and soca and reggae music.Hundreds of thousands attended, including local politicians with Caribbean roots. Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul cut a ceremonial ribbon as Rev. Al Sharpton looked on. Adams’ mayoral challengers, including State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, also participated in the festivities, reported AP.Last year’s parade was also overshadowed by a shooting that left a 25-year-old Texas man dead and four others, aged 16 to 69, injured. The NYPD classified the incident as gang-related.
