On Sunday night, two young men lost their lives to gunfire as the Puerto Rico Day Parade in Brooklyn was wrapping up, according to police reports.
A 19-year-old sustained a gunshot wound to his left arm, while a 20-year-old was shot in the back during an incident on 45th Street near 5th Avenue in Sunset Park, shortly after 7 p.m.
Witnesses described a gunman dressed in all black pursuing a man in red pants down 45th Street, firing his weapon, which caused the victim to collapse against a parked car.
As of now, law enforcement has not confirmed a link between the shooting and the Puerto Rican Day Parade and Festival, which started at 59th Street and 5th Avenue and concluded near 43rd Street by 5 p.m. Emergency responders quickly arrived at the scene, marking off an area close to a group of parade-goers who were still present.
Both victims were transported to NYU Langone Brooklyn Medical Center, where they were reported to be in stable condition; however, the cause of the altercation remains unclear.
Earlier on Sunday, further north in Brooklyn, Knicks point guard Jose Alvarado celebrated his NBA Finals championship alongside Mayor Zoran Mamdani at a separate Puerto Rican Day Parade on Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick.
“Thank you so much everyone. It means so much to me. It really does,” he expressed from a float during the eighth annual parade. “I’m a kid from Brooklyn, and the Knicks party did it.”
This celebration followed the Knicks’ first NBA title in 53 years, which they secured in Game 5 against the San Antonio Spurs.
Throughout the city’s festivities, a total of 63 individuals were detained late Saturday and into Sunday morning after a segment of rowdy fans took celebratory actions too far. This included a 17-year-old shot in the leg in Times Square around 2 a.m. Sunday, coinciding with some individuals vandalizing school buses and igniting fires in the area.
So far, police have arrested two teenagers in connection with the shooting, but the primary gunman remains at large. Carmelo Rodriguez, 18, faces charges for weapon possession and holding a substantial ammunition feeding device, while a 17-year-old has been charged with criminal possession of a firearm in a restricted area.
