Some city leaders made an emotional plea to end the violence after several shootings this past weekend, but statistics actually show a major decline in violence this summer. NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report.

Brooklyn elected officials and activists carried a casket Monday to send a message: stop the gun violence.

"They do not deserve to die, and neither do you deserve to die," said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

Photos of people killed by guns were in the casket. It will remain at Brooklyn Borough Hall all week.

Organizers said the entire city and NYPD must work together to reduce killings.

"We don't want cops shot. We don't want young black and Latino men shot. We want no one to be shot and killed," said City Councilman Jumaane Williams of Brooklyn.

The display followed a weekend of 10 shootings, in which 22 people were hit by gunfire. Three died. Nine of those were hurt at a backyard cookout in Brooklyn.

However, a look at police statistics show a major decline in violence this summer. In June and July, there were 52 murders in the city, compared to 65 in the same period last year, a decline of 20 percent. There were 224 shootings, a decline of 12 percent, and 266 people were hit by bullets, also a decline of 12 percent.

For the year. the number of murders is still up roughly 10 percent. But on the John Catsimatidis radio show, Police Commissioner William Bratton said all serious crime is down for the year and that the murder trend is moving in the right direction.

"Crime numbers are looking good overall. We've had an overall decrease of 5 to 6 percent," Bratton said. "We're trending pretty well, from the way we look at it."

The falloff in violence this summer comes after the NYPD began its all-out program a month early. In June, hundreds of additional police officers were placed in violent neighborhoods.

The department has also teamed up with other law enforcement agencies to go after gangs. NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis says it has been working. He said, "We've had significant takedowns. Last week we took over 50 people out of the mix. They are responsible for a lot of the violence."

Still, Brooklyn officials say more can be done. They are calling for an increase in city funding for community groups.