Tyreke Borel, 17, and Tiarah Poyau, 22, were shot and killed in separate incidents Monday morning during the annual Labor Day, pre-dawn Caribbean parade.
Tyreke was shot in the chest in Crown Heights just before 4AM and later succumbed to injury in hospital. Less than thirty minutes later, Tiarah was shot in the head just a block away. These tragic events occurred despite NYPD adding 42 cameras and doubling up on police patrols after last year’s festivities were also marred in violence.
In both shootings the gunmen were able to flee amidst the large crowds that gathered for the parade. The victims are believed to be the unintended targets of gang warfare.
These devastating events tarnished an otherwise spectacular expression of West Indian culture as revelers, in a wide array of colorful costumes, danced rhythmically to the beats of drums and steelpans.
