Family left with no answers a year after son killed at Brooklyn's West Indian Day Parade
It’s been more than a year since a gunman shot and killed Denzel Chan as he watched the West Indian Day Parade on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn.
His mother, Launette Chan, last heard from the detective assigned to his case via text message in October 2024, one of two times she says she’s been contacted by police about the shooting that killed her son and wounded four other people on Sept. 2, 2024.
With so few updates, she has little faith law enforcement will arrest the person who shot her son, even though it happened in the middle of the day as hundreds of thousands of people attended one of the city’s largest public celebrations.
“I have faith in God,” she said in a recent interview. “I know my God is a God of justice. … That’s where I’m putting my faith. It’s not in the police department.”
Denzel Chan’s case is a relative outlier in the city. The NYPD
But Chan’s case is one that highlights a frustration experienced by many victims’ families. As detectives investigate homicide cases, police providing updates to victims and their families can help build trust between police and the community, said Brian Saunders, who leads a precinct community council in Crown Heights. However, he says constructive dialogue can be difficult to execute.
The loved ones of crime victims are often desperate to know where a case stands, he said.
“That’s the whole thing that’s in everyone’s head,” Saunders said. “What is going on with my family member’s case? Is it forgotten? Are you working on it? Is there any update?”
The 2024 shooting
Chan, who was 25 years old and a graduate of Sheepshead Bay High School, was killed as a massive crowd of people crammed the sidewalks on Eastern Parkway during the vibrant annual parade that celebrates West Indian culture and heritage.
