The 2012 West Indian Day Parade

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — As preparations and food vendors filled Eastern Parkway preparing for Monday's enormous West Indian Day Parade, blocks away gunfire broke out Sunday afternoon.

A man was shot in the hand at 1919 Eastern Parkway at 2:20 p.m., about eight blocks from where the parade is set to take place, near Ralph Avenue and Eastern Parkway.

The victim was rushed to Brookdale Hospital and in stable condition Sunday, police said.

A suspect was taken into custody near Eastern Parkway and Herkimer Street, but an investigation was ongoing, police said.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120902/bedford-stuyvesant/man-shot-hand-on-eastern-parkway

As of 9:15 AM, the food vendors have yet to fully line the EP medians.

In prior years, almost all of the spots were filled with vendors who stayed over night to secure the best spots.

a few hours earlier (around 4 PM):

Just a few moments ago, a few blocks away:

Shooting

BROOKLYN: *SHOOTING* BEDFORD AVE & EASTERN PKWY AT THE PARADE, AIDED SHOT TO FACE LIKELY, MNS354 (c) [MNS463]

Bedford Ave & Eastern Pkwy

Brooklyn, NY

9/3/2012 6:02 p.m.

http://gothamist.com/map/

An ambulance or fire vehicle accident. Seems pretty minor.

http://gothamist.com/map/

EMS MVA

BROOKLYN: *EMS MVA* ALBANY AVE & LINCOLN PL. TOTAL OF 5 INJURIES, ALL GREEN TAG/MINOR INJURIES. (c) [MNS225]

Albany Ave & Lincoln Pl

Brooklyn, NY

9/3/2012 7:42 p.m.

Those who work for the media are now starting getting their version of the day in:

The NYPD assigned Mr. Williams two officers to prevent a re-occurrence of last year's um, "confusion":

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/parade-safest-pol-cops-tail-councilman-jumaane-williams-west-indian-day-carnival-article-1.1150912#ixzz25SOIWOFM

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Meanwhile:

NY1 wrote: All the sights and sounds of the West Indies filled the streets of Brooklyn Monday for the 45th annual West Indian American Day Parade and Carnival.

About two million people lined the route along Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights and many participants wore elaborate feathered costumes and danced for up to three hours straight.

Crowds were playing music, dancing and waving flags of Caribbean nations before the parade even started and some onlookers have been partying since Sunday night.

"I think it's fun. Everybody should do it at least once," said a carnival dancer sporting a feathered headdress.

"It's the freedom of just being able to dance down the street," said another carnival participant sporting a headdress.

Vendors were selling traditional West Indian food, including jerk chicken, oxtail, curry goat and roti.

"I'm having a great time. My family is from the Caribbean, this is part of our heritage. I have a great year, every year," said Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane Williams.

"I've never seen the parade. I feel like it's going to be an exciting parade. I hear there's going to be costumes, floats. I've never been to something this big," said the current Miss Jamaica, Deanna Robins.

This year's theme was "Unity, History and Culture," as 2012 marks 50 years of independence for two West Indian nations, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/168144/brooklyn-sends-off-summer-with-a-west-indian-carnival

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DNA Info has run lots of photos, and reports a very gross arrest:

While the first few hours of the parade seemed relatively calm, a reporter saw police arrest a man after witnesses said he ejaculated on a female parade-goer.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120903/crown-heights/west-indian-american-day-parade-dances-through-crown-heights

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http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/thousands-lined-brooklyn-west-indian-day-parade-article-1.1150439

The Post reports on the post parade violence:

Violence erupted hours after the West Indian Day Parade ended in Brooklyn this evening — leaving two dead and two others injured, authorities said.

A 26-year-old man was stabbed in the neck around 6:30 p.m. in front of Sing Wah Kitchen on St. Johns Place near Utica Avenue — two blocks from the parade route on Eastern Parkway.

The victim was rushed to Kings County Hospital where he died.

A suspect was taken into custody at the scene, cops said.

About 30 minutes earlier, a 27-year-old man was also knifed in the neck at Bedford Avenue and Eastern Parkway, cops said. He also died at Kings County.

And a man and a woman were both shot in the hip around 5:15 p.m. on Eastern Parkway near New York Avenue, cops said.

“The young lady was dancing in the street and there was loud music coming from the truck,” said one witness.

“At first she thought she got stabbed. But when she pulled up her clothes and looked at the wound, she realized she was shot and she freaked a little bit.

“She wasn’t hurt badly. She was able to walk over and speak to the cop and the ambulance came and took her away on the truck.

“It happened very quickly and nobody heard the shot,” the witness said.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bloody_violence_after_west_indian_pUFDlz6YCDatjdaqB1XTQO#ixzz25SfgvCX6

The Post is reporting two dead (see above). The DN is reporting the same.

My source is reporting 2 additional persons likely to die, after the above stories were published:

1 at EP and Bedford

1 Schenectady and St Johns

...CH between Franklin and Utica seems to have had four killings in less than 4 hours.

I'm pretty sure this shot in The Post is of the bloody aftermath of the stabbing at Bedford and EP.

How does a parade that wants to attract and retain families and corporate sponsors deal with such an image?

In addition to the Post and DN, the NYT is presently running a story that appears not to include any of the violence that happened after 7 PM, so it is also reporting two murders:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/nyregion/two-men-fatally-stabbed-as-violence-again-follows-west-indian-day-parade.html?_r=2&ref=nyregion

The other two deaths I allude to above remain unconfirmed.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- It was a deadly night in Brooklyn that included gunfire, knives, and bottles.

Celebrations at the West Indian Day Parade turned bloody and two men are dead.

By the time the 26-year-old stabbing victim was rushed to the hospital from St. John's Place it was too late.

He was pronounced dead at King County Hospital.

Another man, 27, was stabbed along Eastern Parkway by Bedford Avenue and was rushed to hospital in critical condition, but the doctors could not save him.

Indeed stretched along the parade route there was dark red evidence of the outbreaks of violence and the chaos that followed.

Shoes dropped as crowds ran and pushed for cover.

What began with dazzling costumes, mouthwatering foods, and a festive salute to their Caribbean culture, ended according to police with shootings, 2 fatal stabbings, and bottles thrown.

Once emergency crews tended to the victims and police disbursed the crowds, an army of cleanup crews came in to remove the mountain of garbage washed up on the curbs of Eastern Parkway.

All this as celebrators tried to savor what had been a day of dancing in the sun.

So far, police have arrested one man for one of the fatal stabbings.

The other killing and other assaults remain unsolved.

video: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/video?id=8796818&pid=8796808

Glad to hear it cremate!

When looked at statistically, you were clearly in the majority.

Source for photos, and article about the FUN of the parade: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/west-indian-american-day-parade-2012-photos-crown-heights-brooklyn-harry-belafonte_n_1853713.html#slide=1465515