Three men were stabbed in the early hours of Monday morning just before thousands of people were expected to gather for a major Caribbean cultural parade in New York City.
The attacks happened in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, close to the route of the West Indian American Day Parade and the J’Ouvert celebration that takes place before the main parade.
According to police, the first incident happened around 5:48 a.m. near Utica Avenue and Carroll Street. Officers found a 23-year-old man with a stab wound to the neck and a 36-year-old man who had been stabbed in the face.
Less than 30 minutes later, at about 6:12 a.m., officers found a 32-year-old man suffering from a stab wound to the neck near Utica Avenue and President Street. All three victims were taken to Kings County Hospital. The 32-year-old was initially reported to be in critical condition, while the other two victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Later reports said all three were in stable condition.
Investigators are looking into whether the two incidents were connected. Police have described a possible suspect but had not announced an arrest at the time of reporting. Authorities also had not released a clear motive or confirmed whether the violence was directly connected to the parade festivities.
The stabbings occurred only hours before the annual parade, which draws large crowds to Brooklyn to celebrate Caribbean culture through music, costumes and performances. The NYPD had already planned a major security operation around this year’s event because of concerns about violence surrounding previous celebrations.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to determine exactly what led to the attacks.