Lawyer for New York state is shot in head; he previously worked as a BigLaw associate
A former assistant counsel to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was in critical condition Monday evening after he was shot in the head, apparently an unintended target in what may have been a gang shootout.
The lawyer, 43-year-old Carey Gabay, is a lawyer for New York state’s economic development agency, the Empire State Development Corp., the New York Times reports. The Harvard law graduate was previously an assistant counsel to Cuomo and a former associate at Jones Day. According to the New York Post and the New York Daily News, he also previously worked at Schulte Roth & Zabel.
Gabay was shot early Monday morning as he was celebrating the West Indian holiday of J’ouvert before the West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn. Police say Gabay was caught in the crossfire from as many as three gunmen who fired nearly 30 shots.
Cuomo visited Gabay’s family at the hospital. The governor told reporters at the parade that Gabay could have worked at any law firm, but he was a government lawyer because he wanted to give back. “It is so painful, so unnecessary, so sad,” Cuomo said. He added that he didn’t know what it would take for the country “to come to its senses with gun violence.”
“It’s the same story almost weekly,” Cuomo said. “Tragedy after tragedy after tragedy.”
On CNN’s New Day on Tuesday morning, the Democratic governor called for national gun legislation. “This nation has to have the political courage to step up, and the elected officials have to have the political courage to step up and say this weekly ongoing tragedy of loss of life of innocent victims, schoolchildren, young girls, young boys must stop.”
Cuomo said that Gabay remains in “very, very critical condition.”
Updated at 8:48 a.m. to note CNN coverage.
