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Carey W. Gabay, a Cuomo administration lawyer, was shot in Brooklyn last week.Credit Office of the Governor

A Cuomo administration lawyer who was shot in the head during a predawn celebration before the West Indian American Day Parade last week died on Wednesday evening, according to a family friend.

The lawyer, Carey W. Gabay, 43, was a bystander caught in a shootout in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, that the police believe to have been between gangs.

Mr. Gabay was taken to Kings County Hospital Center, where he was in critical condition in a coma in recent days. His family and friends had been keeping vigil there. He was declared brain-dead on Tuesday night, and then taken off a respirator.

“We ask that our privacy be respected during this difficult time,” Mr. Gabay’s family said in a statement.

Calling the shooting “a nightmare that’s shaken our resolve and tested our faith,” the family asked anyone with information about what happened to contact the police.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement: “It is with profound sadness that we learn of the passing of Carey Gabay. Carey was the epitome of an outstanding public servant. He held a tremendous commitment to his community, and he chose to use his many talents to better the lives of others. New York is undeniably a better place today because of his service.”

Mr. Gabay, the son of Jamaican immigrants, grew up in the Boston Secor Houses, a Bronx public-housing project. He graduated from Harvard, where he studied government, and in his senior year was elected president of the undergraduate council, the main body of student government.

He attended Harvard Law School and worked at several firms in New York, specializing in corporate finance law. In 2011, he became an assistant counsel for Mr. Cuomo. In January, he was appointed first deputy counsel for the Empire State Development Corporation, the state’s main economic development agency.

Mr. Gabay and his wife, Trenelle, a hair and makeup artist, married in 2012 at the Dyker Beach Golf Course in Brooklyn. They lived in the borough’s Clinton Hill neighborhood and worshiped at the Emmanuel Baptist Church.

Mr. Gabay celebrated his Jamaican heritage by going every year to J’ouvert, a festival where bands play West Indian music and revelers dance in the streets.

He was walking home with his younger brother and several friends around 3:40 a.m. on Sept. 7 when nearly 30 bullets sprayed the crowd near the corner of Bedford Avenue and Sullivan Place, about two blocks from the east side of Prospect Park, the police said. Mr. Gabay ducked behind a car but was struck by a bullet in the top of his head.

“Many have come to know Carey through professional life, but he is also a kindhearted and selfless soul who has touched the spirit of everyone he’s met,” the family’s statement said.

The police have not made any arrests. Last week, police officials released a sketch of a man who they say is being sought for questioning in connection with Mr. Gabay’s shooting, as well as a surveillance video of two suspects, armed with guns, running into a building on Bedford Avenue after the shooting. They have also offered a $12,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the gunman.