Family: Cuomo aide Carey Gabay declared brain dead
ALBANY – The attorney in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration who was struck by a stray bullet last week has been declared brain dead, according to his family.
Carey Gabay, 43, had been in critical condition at the Kings County Hospital Center since he was shot in the head early Sept. 7, when police say he was seeking cover from gang-related gunfire that rang out as he walked along a Brooklyn street.
In a statement Wednesday, Gabay’s family said he was officially declared brain dead late Tuesday night.
“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,” according to the statement, which was distributed by family spokesman Errol Cockfield.
Gabay has served in Cuomo’s administration since 2011, first as an assistant counsel in the governor’s office and currently as first deputy general counsel at Empire State Development, the state’s economic-development arm.
A Harvard-educated lawyer who grew up in the Bronx projects, Gabay’s chances for survival had already appeared grim; Hours after the shooting, Cuomo said Gabay was in “very, very critical condition.”
“Today we are all incredibly saddened by the news from Carey Gabay’s family,” Cuomo said in a statement Wednesday. “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.”
Gabay’s family made a plea for information regarding his shooter, who remains on the loose. The New York Police Department has offered $12,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case.
“We ask that anyone who may have information related to the criminal case contact law enforcement as they conduct their investigation,” the family said in its statement. “We will continue to burn a flame for Carey with the same tenacious yet tender spirit that has guided him.”
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