Carey Gabay, an aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has been declared brain dead after being shot in the head during a cultural celebration in Brooklyn on Sept. 8, NBC New York reported Wednesday.
Gabay, a first deputy general counsel at Empire State Development Corporation, had been in a coma and fighting for his life after he was caught in crossfire between two gangs near the West Indian Day Parade around 3:40 a.m. on Sept. 8.
Cuomo called the Harvard-educated lawyer an “outstanding public servant” Wednesday.
“I ask that all New Yorkers please join me in keeping both Carey and his family in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” the governor said.
Police told the Associated Press after the shooting that Gabay was an unintended victim after more than two dozen shots were fired by three guns in the predawn hours before the celebration.
Violence has marred New York City’s West Indian Day festivities in recent years. In 2013, a one-year-old child in a stroller was killed by a bullet aimed at his father, and one man was killed with several other wounded after shots were fired into a 2014 crowd.
This story has been updated.
