A man identified as the aide of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was shot in the head early Monday morning in Brooklyn, just hours before the West Indian Day parade was set to begin.

The man had been the unintended target of a shooting which took place at 3:41 a.m. at 1680 Bedford Ave., a spokeswoman for the New York Police Department said in a statement, according to Reuters.

The victim was later identified as 43-year-old Carey Gabay, a Harvard-educated lawyer who works as a first deputy counsel for Cuomo, who confirmed the incident and the victim's identity on Twitter, according to USA Today.

Gabay was rushed to the hospital where he was listed in "critical condition".

"He was caught in gunfire that he had nothing to do with. And there is nothing we can do, nothing the doctors can do, but pray," Cuomo said after visiting Gabay's bedside, according to the New York Daily News. "It is a personal, painful reminder of gun violence. And it has to stop. It just has to stop."

Gabay's brother, 32-year-old Aaron McNaughton, was also at Gabay's bedside.

"He was a good guy. He just didn't deserve this," he said.

The shooting reportedly took place during the J'Ouvert march, a celebration which precedes the annual West Indian Day parade, which has been plagued by violence over the past few years.

An investigation is underway, and while the gun believed to be the one used in the shooting was found, no arrests have been made.

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