The stabbing death and the first shooting happened at Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza, the destination of the parade, according to the (New York) Daily News

The violence broke out about 2 a.m. near where the separate predawn J’Ouvert march was scheduled to start at 4 a.m., a New York Police Department spokesman told the newspaper.

One man had a gunshot wound and another was stabbed, police said. The two men were taken to New York Methodist Hospital in the nearby Park Slope neighborhood, where the stabbing victim, age 24, died from his injuries.

Meanwhile, the Cuomo aide, Carey Gabay, 43, who is the Empire State Development first deputy counsel, was shot in the head in nearby Crown Heights about 3:40 a.m., police told the Daily News and the Associated Press. Emergency responders transported him to Kings County Hospital, where he was listed in grave condition.

According to the New York Post, Gabay was with his brother and some friends when they walked past an argument and a bullet struck him in the head. Cuomo expressed his shock after the incident in a news release.

Less than an hour after Gabay was shot, according to the News, a 39-year-old man was shot in East Flatbush, officials said. He also was taken to Kings County Hospital and was expected to survive, police said. At about the same time, another man was shot in Crown Heights, police told the newspaper. The 20-year-old victim also was taken to Kings County Hospital.

The NYPD had dispatched an additional 1,500 police to patrol the overnight parties and march before the West Indian Day Parade, the News reported. The annual parade runs along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn and often is marred by violence.

As many as 2 million people were expected to line the sides of Eastern Parkway for the parade, according to WCBS. The event celebrates Caribbean cultures and features elaborate costumes and scores of dancers.