An aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo is fighting for his life after he was shot in Brooklyn Monday ahead of the West Indian American Day Parade.

Carey Gabay, a Bronx native, was shot in the head while walking with his brother along the parade route. He remains in critical condition at Kings County Hospital, where he has been placed in a medically induced coma, according to family members.

Gabay's family has called the shooting "an act of senseless violence."

The governor says the 43-year-old was caught in a crossfire between gang members and was not the intended target. Police say there were more than two dozen shots fired between rival gangs.

Gabay grew up in a Bronx public housing complex in Eastchester. He attended Harvard University, became a lawyer and then worked for the governor.

His friends describe him as hard-working and driven. They say his main goal was to get his family out of poverty.

Police are offering a $12,500 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.

Gabay is the first deputy counsel at the Empire State Development Corporation, a position he was appointed to by the governor. One of Gabay's childhood friends, Patrick Walston, says that the shooting was shocking.

"I can't believe this happened," Walston says. "He was a very, very nice person."

In the wake of the shooting, Cuomo has renewed his call for increased gun control measures across the United States.