The violence unfolded in two incidents within about 30 minutes of each other near the parade route. At 5:48 a.m., officers responding to Carroll Street and Utica Avenue found a 23-year-old man stabbed in the neck and a 36-year-old man stabbed in the face, the NYPD said.
Less than a half-hour later, at about 6:12 a.m., police found a 32-year-old man stabbed in the neck near Utica Avenue and President Street.
All three victims were taken to Kings County Hospital and are expected to survive.
A fourth victim, a 20-year-old, later arrived at Kings County Hospital with a slash wound to the chin.
Separately, a 25-year-old man was slashed in the face near Eastern Parkway and Nostrand Avenue at around 6 a.m. He was taken by a private vehicle to Interfaith Medical Center in stable condition
Investigators are now searching for two separate suspects, one of which is described as last seen wearing gray jeans and a dark T-shirt. Police said he fled in an unknown direction.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Later on Monday evening, two people were injured in separate shootings in Crown Heights, also taking place near parade festivities.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed the early-morning violence on Monday ahead of the parade kickoff.
"I think it's still a little early to come to conclusions about the larger context of these stabbings," he said. "What we do know, however, as you said, is that three individuals were stabbed in the early hours of this morning. We are thankful to report that all of them are in stable condition. We continue to be incredibly confident in the work of our NYPD, our CMS partners, and city workers across the parade."
By the afternoon, with most signs of the early-morning stabbings gone, the paradegoers and vendors didn't miss a beat.
"I don't know nothing about the stabbing," said Abdullah, a grilled corn vendor. "I'm just an entrepreneur out here trying to make a living."
Angela Jones has lived on a corner of Crown Heights for 30 years.
"I feel safe. Young people should be calm, just come together and have fun, to celebrate the Caribbean, and not do all this crazy stuff," Jones said.
The West Indian Day Parade has been marred by violence before. Last year, six people were shot, none fatally, and one person was slashed. It all happened at 5:30 p.m. or later, which is why police say, this year's parade will be shut down at 5:30.
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