Brooklyn Bridge Park Exhibit Memorializes Children Lost to School Shootings

Photographs of preserved bedrooms in Oscar-nominated film draw visitors into stark reflection on gun violence's human toll.

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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A public photography exhibit at Brooklyn Bridge Park is displaying images of children's bedrooms left exactly as they were before their lives were cut short in school shootings. The exhibit is part of the Oscar-nominated documentary film "All the Empty Rooms," which aims to restore the nation's empathy towards the epidemic of gun violence in schools.

Why it matters

As school shootings have become more frequent, the news coverage has often shrunk to just a few days before moving on to the next story. This exhibit and documentary film seek to counter that trend by preserving the intimate spaces of victims and drawing attention to the human toll of gun violence in schools.

The details

The photographs, taken by photographer Lou Bopp, show the bedrooms of children killed in school shootings, capturing everyday details like unmade beds, laundry hampers, and bookshelves. The exhibit is part of the short documentary film "All the Empty Rooms," directed by Joshua Seftel, which takes viewers inside these preserved spaces. The film's subject, CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman, says he felt the country was growing numb to the school shooting epidemic and wanted to find a way to "shake people out of that numbness."

  • The photography exhibit is on display at Brooklyn Bridge Park through March 4, 2026.
  • The documentary film "All the Empty Rooms" is currently streaming on Netflix.

The players

Steve Hartman

A CBS News correspondent who has covered close to a dozen school shootings and is the subject of the documentary film "All the Empty Rooms."

Lou Bopp

A photographer whose images of children's bedrooms are featured in the exhibit and documentary.

Joshua Seftel

The director of the documentary film "All the Empty Rooms."

Mia Tretta

A survivor of the 2019 school shooting in Santa Clarita, California, who lost her best friend Dominic Blackwell in the attack.

Cailley Frank-Lehrer

The senior producer of Photoville, the organization behind the Brooklyn Bridge Park exhibit.

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What they’re saying

“I felt like the country was growing numb to the whole school shooting epidemic. And I was like, what could I possibly do to shake people out of that numbness, including myself? Because I was growing numb to it.”

— Steve Hartman, CBS News correspondent

“As they happen more and more often, the news coverage would shrink to maybe a couple of days, and then we're on to the next story. It just felt wrong, and it felt like we needed to sort of wake up as a nation and restore our empathy.”

— Steve Hartman, CBS News correspondent

“They're places that most people don't get to see, and we wanted to share those with the world so that they can see the toll that gun violence is taking on these families and on our country.”

— Joshua Seftel, Director, "All the Empty Rooms"

“In his bedroom, you see the SpongeBob all over and the sports trophies and football, and you really get a sense for who he was as a person.”

— Mia Tretta, School shooting survivor

“It's a very eye-catching thing, and I think most of us can really relate to that intimate space in the home, thinking about what happens when that person is no longer there.”

— Cailley Frank-Lehrer, Senior producer, Photoville

What’s next

The photography exhibit at Brooklyn Bridge Park will remain on display through March 4, 2026. The documentary film "All the Empty Rooms" is currently streaming on Netflix.

The takeaway

This exhibit and documentary film serve as a powerful reminder of the human toll of gun violence in schools, preserving the intimate spaces of victims in order to restore the nation's empathy and draw attention to an ongoing epidemic that often fades from the headlines too quickly.