Despite more police, West Indian Day events marred by deaths
Revelers in costumes danced as the sounds of steel drums filled the air Monday at the city’s annual West Indian Day Parade, but despite an expanded police presence violence again marred the event, with two people shot to death at pre-dawn festivities.
A 17-year-old, Tyreke Borel, was shot in the chest at around 3:50 a.m. in Brooklyn during J’ouvert, a celebration that fills the streets with music hours before the parade steps off. Police said a 72-year-old woman was shot in the arm at the same location and was hospitalized in stable condition. Soon after, a 22-year-old woman, Tiarah Poyau, was shot in the head just a block away, police said. Borel and Poyau died, and police said they were investigating whether the shootings were related.
The New York Police Department had doubled the number of officers at J’ouvert and the West Indian Day Parade, which are overseen by different organizations. They also added security cameras and more light towers.