In Brooklyn, an Open Casket Sparks Conversations About Gun Violence

Brooklyn officials are trying to call attention to gun violence, with a stark visual: a gold, open casket filled with illustrations of the effects of shooting — and a mirror.

The casket will remain in front of Brooklyn Borough Hall for the entire week.

During a news conference on Monday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said there are still too many guns on the streets.

"Our communities are lying in state, just as some prominent human being or individual would lie in state in a governmental building — our community members are prominent and are important," he said. Adams and other Brooklyn officials are also calling on city, state, and federal officials to support community programs that combat gun violence.

Several passersby stopped Monday to take a look at the casket. Jamanita Hamilton, from the Bronx, hopes it sparks conversations about an issue that's important to her. She was reminded of a high school friend she said was a victim of gun violence. "He didn't get a chance to live his life, you know, to graduate out of high school, and he just got shot in the park, one day in the summer," she said.

Anne Johnson, who lives in Flatbush, said violence in the city is a concern, and that she agrees with advocates who say there need to be more community resources for young people, like mentorship and job placement programs.

"In my building, it's a problem," she said. "Young, black men, just doing nothing. Smoking, and doing god knows what. It scares me."

The display at Brooklyn Borough Hall comes after gunshots Sunday in East New York injured nine people. There were other shootings over the weekend, too: one man was killed and two people were wounded at a playground in the Bronx, and a 46-year-old man was wounded at the Walt Whitman Houses in Brooklyn.

But according to a New York Times analysis of recent police statistics, gun violence is slightly down across the city.