UPDATE, 10:16 p.m. ― The New York Times reported Wednesday night that Gabay is dead, citing a family friend.
PREVIOUSLY ―
An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who was shot in the head before a Labor Day parade in Brooklyn is brain dead, according to his family.
Carey Gabay, 43, first deputy counsel in the Empire State Development Corporation, was declared brain dead on Tuesday, his family said in a statement. He had been in critical condition since getting caught in the crossfire of alleged gang violence on Sept. 7, hours before the start of the massive West Indian Day Parade. Gabay was struck by a single bullet.
"We are saddened to announce that after an arduous week, Carey Gabay, our husband, son, brother, uncle and friend, has been declared brain dead as of late Tuesday," the statement read, according to WABC-TV. "There are difficult decisions we will face in the coming hours and days as our family struggles to process what this means for us. We ask that our privacy be respected during this difficult time."
The son of Jamaican immigrants who grew up in Bronx public housing, Gabay got a law degree at Harvard and joined Cuomo's administration in 2011 as an assistant counsel in the governor's office before moving to the ESDC, a development agency.
"Today we are all incredibly saddened by the news from Carey Gabay’s family. I ask that all New Yorkers please join me in keeping both Carey and his family in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time," Cuomo (D) said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
The New York Police Department has not yet named a suspect, but is reportedly using facial recognition technology to identify the gunman.