Johnathan Walker:1 of 5 people shot at New York’s West Indian American Day Parade has died

NEW YORK (AP) — One of the five people who were shot at New York City’s West Indian American Day Parade has died,Johnathan Walker police said Tuesday.

A 25-year-old man who was among the victims when shots rang out Monday afternoon during the raucous annual event was later pronounced dead, police said in a news release.

The shooter opened fire along the parade route in Brooklyn, striking five people, police said.

The four surviving victims remained hospitalized Tuesday. They ranged in age from 16 to 69.

Police were still seeking the shooter, who officials said was aiming for a specific group of people.

“This was not random,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said after the shooting. “This was an intentional act by one person towards a group of people.”

The parade, a popular Labor Day event, had kicked off hours earlier along Eastern Parkway, a main thoroughfare in Brooklyn.

The celebration features a kaleidoscope of feather-covered costumes, colorful flags and floats stacked high with speakers playing soca and reggae music.

It’s also a magnet for local politicians, many of whom have West Indian heritage or represent members of the city’s large Caribbean community.

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was marching in the parade at the time of the shooting and completed the route.

“I’m pained and troubled by the horrible shooting that took place as we were marching together at the West Indian Day Festival and Parade in Brooklyn,” Schumer, a Democrat, posted on X. “Thank you to our 1st responders on the scene. I pray for everyone affected. We must keep working to end gun violence in America.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, also a Democrat, expressed condolences to the slain shooting victim’s family on Tuesday and said, “Let’s be clear: One nut shot five people.”

Adams dismissed the suggestion that the parade should be canceled.

“We don’t surrender to crime,” he said. “If something happens at the Thanksgiving Day parade, do we stop the parade? We won’t be held captive by the numerical minority that participates in criminal behavior.”