On Thursday of last week a tragedy occurred in Coney Island . At 5.30 pm on the east end of the boardwalk a dispute broke out and a 19 year old young man pulled out a gun and started shooting. The boardwalk was very crowded and panic immediately dispensed. Most people there had never heard a gun shot before but instinctively knew exactly what was happening. "There was no where to escape" said one person caught in the crossfire. The shooters, now believed to be two people, escaped into the crowd leaving 5 people shot and a 16 year old girl dead.
Tysha Jones was dead. The high school senior from “You’re never expecting nothing to ever happen at no beach. Somebody pulling out guns with kids and everybody out there having fun, I never thought that,” said Cynthia.
Tysha wanted to go to medical school and become a nutritionist. Her life suddenly ended and a community paralyzed.
I was upstate when this happened and did not read the news that evening. After church on Friday morning, I decided to ride my bike to the end of the boardwalk. At the beginning of Brighton , I was stopped by police who had taped the entire boardwalk off. Litter from all the garbage cans were spread over the boardwalk as police were sifting through looking for clues as to who did this. There were many people standing around talking about this violent tragedy.
This scene pales in comparison to the scene in Harlem where a mother is forced to deal with the consequences of the death of her youngest child. There is no doubt that everyone fears the moment that they might have to deal with the death of a child. A violent death makes it so much worse. There is no rewinding the clock, there are no good byes, there are the images of the moment of the impact of a bullet into your child's chest that slowly drains their life away. You see her lying on a cold wooden boardwalk with people surrounding her as she slips into eternity. You are not there and you cannot hold your child. The pain of the endless thoughts overwhelms your soul. Maybe somehow you are to blame and you rehearse the "what ifs" that might have been. A memorial outside your house gives others a chance to grieve. There is some comfort as people stop by to remember and share your pain.
On the boardwalk a police tower is set in place to prove to the citizens that somehow law enforcement is in control. It is very much after the fact. The tower amplifies the crime that most people want to ignore. People's comments on the news boards point to the lack of safety at the beaches and the fear that now is set in place. "No where is safe" writes one commentator. The police presence is upped with more cars and bicycle police. As you walk on the boardwalk your eyes are looking for blood stains. You wonder what has happened to our society. How does a dispute at the beach end in such tragedy? Arrests have been made and justice will prevail. Life in Brooklyn moves forward deeply affected by a senseless death.
