NEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo renewed his call for national gun control legislation on Saturday as he delivered a eulogy for the top state attorney who was fatally wounded by a stray bullet in Brooklyn earlier this month.
State officials and family members gathered at Brooklyn's Emmanuel Baptist Church in a private service for Carey Gabay, 43, who was struck in the head at a pre-dawn outdoor celebration on Sept. 7 before the annual West Indian Day parade, an event plagued by violence in recent years.
Gabay is believed to have been an unintended target, police said.
"His death was one of the most tragic, pointless examples of the rampant violence that is spreading like a cancer through our society, especially in our poorer communities and especially in our communities of color," Cuomo said.
After he was declared brain dead, Gabay was taken off a respirator at Kings County Hospital Center and pronounced dead on Sept. 16.
Cuomo referenced the mass shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012 and at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina in June as he said New York's firearm restrictions are ineffective on their own.
"It's not enough for New York State to pass a gun law and close the front door when the guns are coming in the back door, when the guns can come up from Virginia or South Carolina for anyone willing to take a car ride," he said.
Gabay, the first deputy counsel at Empire State Development, the state's chief economic development agency, was a Harvard-educated lawyer who was raised in public housing in the Bronx by Jamaican immigrant parents. He became an assistant counsel for Cuomo in 2011 after working in finance.
A police spokeswoman said on Saturday that no arrests have been made in the case. Police released a surveillance video two weeks ago that shows two men apparently armed with handguns running into a building near the site of the shooting.
Police also released a sketch of a suspect who is wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting. The suspect was described as a 19- to 20-year-old black man wearing a white T-shirt, black pants and a Jamaican flag around his neck.
"I met Pope Francis this week, and a big part of me wanted to ask Pope Francis the same question: Pope, why? Why would God take Carey?" Cuomo said. "The Lord gives us no answers. Instead, the Lord gives us faith."
Pivotal Moments In The U.S. Gun Control Debate
1981: The Attempted Assassination Of President Ronald Reagan(01 of08)
Open Image ModalOn March 30, 1981, President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Reagan's press secretary, Jim Brady, was shot in the head. (credit:NBC via Getty Images)
1993: The Brady Handgun Violence Act (02 of08)
Open Image ModalThe Brady Handgun Violence Act of 1993, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, mandated that federally licensed dealers complete comprehensive background checks on individuals before selling them a gun. The legislation was named for James Brady, who was shot during an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
1994: The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act(03 of08)
Open Image ModalThe Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, instituted a ban on 19 kinds of assault weapons, including Uzis and AK-47s. The crime bill also banned the possession of magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. (An exemption was made for weapons and magazines manufactured prior to the ban.)
2007: The U.S. Court of Appeals For The District Of Columbia Rules In Favor Of Dick Heller(04 of08)
Open Image ModalIn 2007 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled to allow Dick Heller, a licensed District police officer, to keep a handgun in his home in Washington, D.C. Following that ruling, the defendants petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
2008: Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Handgun Ban As Unconstitutional(05 of08)
Open Image ModalIn June of 2008, the United States Supreme Court upheld the verdict of a lower court ruling the D.C. handgun ban unconstitutional in the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller.
Gabrielle Giffords And Trayvon Martin Shootings(06 of08)
Open Image ModalColorado Movie Theater Shooting(07 of08)
Open Image ModalSikh Temple Shooting(08 of08)
Open Image ModalOn August 5, 2012, white supremacist Wade Michael Page opened fire on a Sikhs gathered at a temple in Oak Creek, Wis., killing six and wounding four more before turning the gun on himself. (credit:Scott Olson via Getty Images)
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