2 dead, 2 hurt in violent night after parade

NEW YORK

Celebrations at the /*West Indian Day Parade*/ turned bloody, and two men are dead.

By the time the 26-year-old stabbing victim was rushed to the hospital from St. John's Place, it was too late.

He was pronounced dead at King County Hospital.

Another man, 27, was stabbed along Eastern Parkway by Bedford Avenue and was rushed to hospital in critical condition, but the doctors could not save him.

Stretched along the parade route, there was dark red evidence of the outbreaks of violence and the chaos that followed.

Shoes dropped as crowds pushed and ran for cover.

What began with dazzling costumes, mouthwatering foods and a festive salute to their Caribbean culture ended according to police with shootings, the fatal stabbings and bottles thrown.

Once emergency crews tended to the victims and police disbursed the crowds, an army of cleanup crews came in to remove the mountain of garbage washed up on the curbs of Eastern Parkway.

All this as celebrators tried to savor what had been a day of dancing in the sun.

So far, police have arrested one man for one of the fatal stabbings. Gabriel Hernandez of Brooklyn was arrested and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the fatal stabbing of the 26-year-old man.

The other killing and other assaults remain unsolved.

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