5 people shot at New York's West Indian American Day Parade, police say

NEW YORK (AP) — Five people were shot Monday at New York City’s West Indian American Day Parade, police said. It's the latest instance of violence marring one of the world’s largest annual celebrations of Caribbean culture.

A gunman targeting a specific group of people opened fire along the parade route in Brooklyn around 2:35 p.m., NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said.

The parade had kicked off hours earlier, with thousands of revelers dancing and marching down Eastern Parkway, a main thoroughfare through the borough. It was expected to continue into the night.

Two people were critically wounded, Chell said. The three other victims are expected to survive their injuries, he said. The gunman fled.

“This was not random,” Chell said. “This was an intentional act by one person towards a group of people. We do not by no means have any active shooter or anything of that nature running around Eastern Parkway as we speak. The parade is going on and will go on until later on tonight.”

An Associated Press videographer who was nearby when the shots rang out saw at least two people being treated next for what appeared to be wounds to the face and arm.

Police cordoned off an area adjacent to the parade route, where they had placed crime scene markers. The parade continued flowing past as officers were seen bagging items.

Chell asked that bystanders provide police with any video footage they may have recorded of the shooting.

“We need that video,” Chell said. “We are going to solve this, but it’s going to take a lot of work.”

Some people attending the parade were shaken by the violence.

“I’m crying over this, it’s so terrible. How can someone have the heart to fire a gun around so many people — babies, children, the elderly,” Jalissa Bailey told the New York Post.

"I know this parade has a history of violence, but things have been peaceful in recent years, and we got to hoping that there was enough security in place that maybe that was over with,” Bailey said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was marching in the parade at the time 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 posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Thank you to our 1st responders on the scene. I pray for everyone affected. We must keep working to end gun violence in America.”

The parade, an annual Labor Day event in its 57th year, turns Eastern Parkway into a kaleidoscope of feather-covered costumes and colorful flags as participants make their way down the thoroughfare alongside floats stacked high with speakers playing soca and reggae music.

The parade routinely attracts huge crowds, who line the almost 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) route that runs from Crown Heights to the Brooklyn Museum. It’s also a popular destination for local politicians, many of whom have West Indian heritage or represent members of the city’s large Caribbean community.

Though a joyous occasion, the parade and related celebrations have been plagued by violence over the years.

In 2016, two people were killed and several others were wounded near the parade route. The year before, Carey Gabay, an aide to then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo was shot in the head during pre-parade festivities. He died nine days later.

The West Indian American Day Parade has its roots in more traditionally timed, pre-Lent Carnival celebrations started by a Trinidadian immigrant in Manhattan around a century ago, according to the organizers. The festivities were moved to the warmer time of year in the 1940s.

Brooklyn, where hundreds of thousands of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants have settled, began hosting the parade in the 1960s.

The Labor Day parade is now the culmination of days of carnival events in the city, which includes a steel pan band competition and J’Ouvert, a separate street party commemorating freedom from slavery.

A man takes a selfie with a reveler during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

First responders tend to a man injured during a shooting at the West Indian Parade, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Nancy Siesel via AP)

First responders tend to a man injured during a shooting at the West Indian Parade, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Nancy Siesel via AP)

New York police officers escort a man injured during a shooting at the West Indian Parade, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Nancy Siesel via AP)

Revelers march during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

A reveler marches during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

A reveler marches during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

People march in the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Revelers dance during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

A reveler poses for a picture during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Revelers gather during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

A reveler smokes during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Revelers walk on stilts during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

A reveler marches during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Revelers hang out during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Revelers gather during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Revelers pose for a photograph during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Revelers march at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Eastern Parkway during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Revelers march during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

A man takes a selfie with a reveler during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Revelers gather during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Revelers gather during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Police move revelers from the street after a shooting on Eastern Parkway, near the corner of Franklin Avenue, during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Police move revelers from the street after a shooting on Eastern Parkway, near the corner of Franklin Avenue, during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Police move revelers from the street after a shooting on Eastern Parkway, near the corner of Franklin Avenue, during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

FILE - A dancer in costume participate in the West Indian Day Parade, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

FILE - Dancers participate in the West Indian Day Parade, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — England and English soccer teams could be removed from UEFA competitions if a new regulator is considered to be “Government interference” in the sport.

In a letter sent by UEFA to the U.K.'s new culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, European soccer's governing body raised concerns about a proposed independent football regulator (IFR) in English soccer. The regulatory will ensure the financial sustainability of clubs and stop teams from joining breakaway competitions like the European Super League.

UEFA regulations state there should be no government interference in the running of soccer.

“We have specific rules that guard against this in order to guarantee the autonomy of sport and fairness of sporting competition; the ultimate sanction for which would be excluding the federation from UEFA and teams from competition,” UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis wrote in his letter, which has been seen by The Associated Press.

England, which has been runner-up in the last two European Championships, is co-hosting the 2028 edition of the tournament.

If UEFA imposed its ultimate sanction of excluding the English Football Association, the England team would be barred from competing in the Euros. It could also mean Premier League clubs being barred from the Champions League and other competitions.

The U.K. government’s Football Governance Bill would give an independent regulator powersto safeguard the future of clubs. It includes strengthened tests over who can run or own clubs.

In its letter, UEFA said “normally football regulation should be managed by the national federation.”

It said it was concerned by what it described as “scope creep” by a regulator into areas beyond “the long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.”

UEFA said if all countries established regulators with wide-reaching powers it would hinder its ability to maintain effective governance across Europe. It wants England's regulator to be “strictly limited” to the long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - The UEFA Euro trophy is pictured after Britain and Ireland were elected to host the Euro 2028 football tournament during the the UEFA EURO 2028 and 2032 hosts announcement ceremony after the UEFA Executive Committee, at UEFA Headquarters, in Nyon, Switzerland, Oct. 10, 2023. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP, File)