Police were searching for two suspects after separate early-morning attacks near the route of Brooklyn’s West Indian Day celebration.
NEW YORK — Five men were injured in separate stabbings and slashings in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood early Monday, hours before the West Indian Day Parade began, police said. No arrests had been announced in the attacks as investigators searched for two suspects.
The violence unfolded in several locations near the parade area during a roughly half-hour period around daybreak. The incidents occurred as thousands of people were gathering in Brooklyn for J’Ouvert and the annual parade along Eastern Parkway, one of New York City’s largest celebrations of Caribbean culture.
Police responding to Carroll Street and Utica Avenue at about 5:48 a.m. found a 23-year-old man who had been stabbed in the neck and a 36-year-old man who had been stabbed in the face. Both were taken to Kings County Hospital.
At about 6:12 a.m., officers found a 32-year-old man with a stab wound near Utica Avenue and President Street, police said. He also was taken to Kings County Hospital. The three men were expected to survive.
A fourth victim, a 20-year-old man, later arrived at Kings County Hospital with a slash wound to his chin. In a separate incident around 6 a.m., a 25-year-old man was slashed in the face near Eastern Parkway and Nostrand Avenue. He was taken by private vehicle to Interfaith Medical Center and was reported in stable condition.
Police were investigating the attacks as separate incidents and were looking for two suspects. Authorities released a limited description of one person sought in the investigation, saying the suspect had last been seen wearing gray jeans and a dark T-shirt before fleeing in an unknown direction.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged caution about drawing broader conclusions from the early-morning violence. Speaking before the parade began, Mamdani said it was too early to determine the larger context of the attacks and expressed confidence in the police, community violence-prevention groups and city workers assigned to the celebration.
The incidents came despite an extensive security operation planned for J’Ouvert and the West Indian Day Parade. City officials had announced that thousands of police officers would be deployed along the parade routes and in surrounding neighborhoods from Sunday night through Monday. J’Ouvert spectators also passed through controlled entry points with security screening.
The main parade began later Monday along Eastern Parkway, where crowds gathered for music, dancing, costumes and celebrations representing Caribbean communities. Police had already planned to end the parade promptly at 5:30 p.m., citing violence that occurred around or after that hour during the previous year’s festivities.
Separate shootings later Monday injured three people near the parade festivities, according to police. Those incidents were reported separately from the early-morning stabbings and slashings. Authorities had not announced evidence linking the incidents.
The investigation into the five early-morning injuries remained active, and police had not announced arrests in those cases as of Tuesday.
Author note: Last updated September 8, 2026.