STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

UPDATE: Suspect Arrested As Horrifying Details Emerge In the Murder of Tiarah Poyau at NYC West Indian Day Parade

Police believe the 22-year-old was shot through the eye for refusing sexual advances.

UPDATE: A man has been arrested for murdering 22-year-old graduate student Tiarah Poyau at New York City's J'Ouvert West Indian Day Parade on Wednesday, the New York Post reports. According to Brooklyn police, Reginald Moise, 20, shot Poyau in her face after she told him to "get off me" when he began grinding on her during the parade.
Moise was taken into custody after being found drunkenly driving with a flag wrapped around a bloodied hand, officials say. Before his arrest, Moise reportedly told his friends, “I think I shot somebody on the parade route. I didn’t know the gun was loaded." He then asked to stash the murder weapon in is girlfriend's apartment, according to police.
He has been charged with Moise is facing charges of second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.

PREVIOUS:
Two young people were shot and killed along the route of the New York West Indian Day Parade in Crown Heights yesterday. Five other people were injured from other shootings and stabbings that took place in the early hours before the parade. 

17-year-old Tyreke Borel was shot in his chest around 4 a.m., before the J'Ouvert celebration began. In addition to Borel, 72-year-old Margaret Peters was shot in her arms and hands. Borel later died from his severe injuries.

About 15 minutes later, 22-year-old Tiarah Poyau was shot in the head just a block away. After the shooting, she was transported to Kings County Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

In the moments after Poyau was shot, a 23-year-old was stabbed in the lower back; however, according the NYPD officers, she refused medical attention. She is expected to make a recovery.

Also around 5 a.m., an unidentified person was stabbed in the neck and transported to Methodist Hospital. When the person left the scene, they were in critical condition, officials say.

Then around 7 a.m., before the parade started, a 20-year-old man on the corner of Clarkson and Rogers Avenue was shot in the leg. He is expected to make a full recovery. A 66-year-old woman was also injured trying to flee the violence.

The J’Ouvert celebrations are known in Brooklyn for inciting violence. Last year, 43-year-old Carey Gabay, an aid to Governor Cuomo, was shot and killed by a stray bullet during the parade. This inspired the NYPD to double their presence from 1,700 officers to 3,400 on duty officers this year.

Multiple Caribbean cultures celebrate during the annual West Indian Day Parade. The J’Ouvert festivities continue throughout the night and attract crowds upward of 250,000 people.

Although this year resulted in the death of two people, New York officials do not believe the festival needs to be cancelled next year. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has spoken to the assumption that the parade will not take place in 2017.  

Adams believes canceling the parade would “send a bad message if the finest police department in this country cannot have an event because of some wayward individuals.”

Mayor Bill DeBlasio said this year’s outcome will push for conversations about cancellation next year. However, he also pointed out that the popular St. Patrick's Day Parade and the Puerto Rican Day Parade also had violent reputations in the past until stronger police efforts changed these violent perceptions.

Borel’s great uncle, David Brathwaite, said, "To me, J'Ouvert is not the problem. The problem is the system. I can't blame J'Ouvert for the incident."

In addition to Brathwaite, Borel is survived by his mother and younger brother and sister. His father is a police officer back in his home country of Trinidad, where the family says Borel will most likely be buried.

Poyau was a student at St. John’s and was an aspiring accountant. She interned at top five firm PwC in New York, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.