Thousands of officers and community safety workers had been deployed before five men were injured in early-morning attacks near the festivities.
NEW YORK — An expanded security operation surrounding Brooklyn’s West Indian Day celebrations faced an early test Monday when five men were injured in separate stabbings and slashings in Crown Heights before the main parade began.
The attacks occurred as New York City carried out one of its largest annual police deployments, combining thousands of officers with community violence-prevention teams, security screening for J’Ouvert and an earlier scheduled end to the West Indian Day Parade. City officials had announced the measures days earlier after violence near previous celebrations raised concerns about public safety.
Police said two men, ages 23 and 36, were found injured at Carroll Street and Utica Avenue at about 5:48 a.m. A 32-year-old man was found with a stab wound less than a half-hour later near Utica Avenue and President Street. The three were taken to Kings County Hospital and were expected to survive.
A 20-year-old man later arrived at Kings County Hospital with a slash wound to his chin. In another incident around 6 a.m., a 25-year-old man was slashed in the face near Eastern Parkway and Nostrand Avenue and was taken by private vehicle to Interfaith Medical Center in stable condition.
Police were looking for two separate suspects and had made no arrests in the early-morning attacks. Authorities had not announced a motive or said that the incidents were directly connected to the organized parade events.
The violence came against the backdrop of a security plan that city officials described before the weekend as a coordinated effort involving the NYPD, the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety and Crisis Management System partners. Hundreds of community safety workers and volunteers were assigned to areas around the festivities to conduct outreach, mediate conflicts and respond to developing problems.
For J’Ouvert, which began Monday morning before the main parade, spectators entered through 13 controlled access points and were subject to security screening. Police said prohibited items included weapons, alcohol, large bags and several other objects that could create safety problems in crowded viewing areas.
The NYPD also assigned specialized resources around the celebrations, including emergency service officers, aviation and mounted units, counterterrorism teams, K-9 units, field intelligence personnel and the bomb squad. Police drones and fixed and mobile cameras were part of the monitoring operation.
Officials made another significant change by setting a firm 5:30 p.m. ending for the West Indian Day Parade. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said before the event that the time was chosen because three shooting incidents near the previous year’s parade occurred at approximately 5:35 p.m., 6:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., leaving six people shot.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday that authorities should not draw premature conclusions about the early stabbings. He said city officials remained confident in the work of police officers, community safety partners and other workers assigned to the parade.
The celebration proceeded during the day, filling Eastern Parkway with Caribbean music, costumes, food and national flags. The annual event draws large crowds and is a major cultural gathering for New York’s Caribbean communities.
Additional violence was reported later Monday when three people were injured in separate shootings near the festivities. Police said a suspect was taken into custody and a firearm recovered in one shooting, while suspects were being sought in another. The later shootings were separate from the early-morning stabbing investigations.
Police continued investigating the attacks Tuesday. No arrests had been announced in connection with the five men injured before the parade, and authorities had not released evidence establishing a common motive among the incidents.
Author note: Last updated September 8, 2026.