It could have been far worse.
Despite one incident early Monday morning in Crown Heights, Brooklyn that saw five people shot and wounded, the central Brooklyn area saw relative peace as volunteers from anti-violence community groups and police worked together to prevent other gun violence from occurring.
The effort sought to stop the rashes of shootings seen in the area during past celebrations of J’Ouvert, which had to be canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Police saturated the areas of Flatbush, Canarsie, and Crown Heights, deterring much of the violence that has plagued the previous weekend. Their heavy presence made it possible to make rapid arrests of two men for the lone shooting at the street party during the unofficial J’Ouvert festivities.