New York Gov Andrew Cuomo's Staffer Shot Before NYC West Indian Day Parade: Carey Gabay In Critical Condition

UPDATE 11:29 a.m. EDT: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement on the shooting Monday confirming that 43-year-old staffer Carey Gabay was shot and in critical conditional, via WCBS.

"Carey is a friend to all who have the pleasure of meeting him," the statement read. "I ask that New Yorkers join us by keeping him, his wife Trenelle and his family in their prayers at this time."

Original story:

One of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's staff members was shot and seriously wounded early Monday before the West Indian Day Parade in the Brooklyn borough of New York, WABC-TV reported. Carey Gabay, 43, was reportedly shot in the head at about 3:45 a.m. in the Flatbush neighborhood.

Officials told the television station Gabay was walking with his brother past people having an argument when shots were fired. He was reportedly hit with at least one bullet and rushed to the hospital, where he is in critical condition.

Cuomo himself did not immediately release the name of the staffer who was shot, but said the man was a 43-year-old graduate of Harvard University with a wife and baby on the way, according to WCBS. A biography of Gabay at the time of his hiring as first deputy counsel of Empire State Development, the New York economic-development agency staffed by Cuomo, appears to match the description given by the governor.

Several incidents of violence broke out before the parade scheduled for Monday. One man was killed in a stabbing and others were wounded by gunfire, including the Cuomo staffer, the Associated Press reported.

The parade celebrates Caribbean culture and features food, music and scores of dancers in bright costumes. Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio are both scheduled to attend the event, the first such occasion for the two since July, after a monthslong feud, as AP noted.