The annual West Indian Day Parade during Labor Day Weekend along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn is typically a celebration of Caribbean culture that brings together people from different islands. This year’s event also brought along tragedy.
According to The Daily News, there was a killing in the vicinity of the parade route earlier this week on Monday, Sept. 4. One man, Muhammad Malik, was shot and killed that evening as police officers
responded to the 911 call that was made around 8:50 p.m. Police found his body with gunshot wounds when they arrived on Sterling Place near Schenectady Ave., about three blocks from the parade route.A suspect was arrested in the fatal shooting of Muhammad, according to police.
Thirty-nine-year-old Sergio Codrington has been charged with murder, criminal possession of a firearm, and criminal possession of a controlled substance for shooting 51-year-old Muhammad. Police say that the suspect left the scene and returned, and that is when bystanders identified him to police on the spot.
The killing occurred near a construction site, and a witness, who gave his name as Roman, stated that the killing was deliberate and thorough.
“There were lots of shots,” Roman told The Daily News on Monday night. “They gave him everything. They made sure he was dead.”
The witness also said that paramedics made a valiant effort to save the life of Muhammad but were unsuccessful. “They were pumping and pumping, but he wasn’t moving,” said Roman. “He was a dead man.”
Malik’s father, Hamza Malik, told the media outlet that his son had a confrontation with the alleged killer and was shot in the back.
“Shot him in the back,” the 80-year-old Hamza stated. “Three to four bullets hit him in the back. He killed him for no reason at all, just like that.”
Muhammad will have a funeral service on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at the J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home at 179-24 Linden Boulevard in Queens.
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