5 People, Including 6-Year-Old, Shot At J'Ouvert Party: Reports

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Five people, including a 6-year-old boy, were shot early Monday morning at an unofficial celebration of J'Ouvert, the pre-dawn festival that was canceled this year due to the coronavirus crisis, according to police and reports.

The shooting broke out close to 3 a.m. at the intersection of Nostrand Avenue and Crown Street, where video shows a large crowd was marching down the street in celebration of the holiday, which typically marks the start of Carnival with a large parade.

The gunfire hit the 6-year-old boy in the left leg and his mother, along with three adult men, were also hit in their feet or legs, according to police and the New York Times. All five were taken to the hospital and are in stable condition.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Terence Monahan said Monday that two men had been arrested in connection with the shooting and that two guns were recovered.

The investigation is “in its early stages and is ongoing," he said.

City officials had announced on Thursday that hundreds of police would be patrolling the streets of Brooklyn over the holiday weekend ensure that New Yorkers were following social distancing guidelines and also prevent what has been an ongoing surge in gun violence in the borough and the city.

The J'Ouvert festival and popular West Indian Day Parade had both been cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that the weekend was largely safe in the borough despite the "troubling" shooting.

"Except for that incident overwhelmingly we had a peaceful weekend in Central Brooklyn," he said.

This article originally appeared on the Prospect Heights-Crown Heights Patch