At least eight people, including four children, were shot late Saturday at New York’s Coney Island, leaving one woman in critical condition.
Officers responded to reports of multiple people shot at about 10:35 p.m., New York police said in a statement. They found eight victims with gunshot wounds in the front courtyard of a residential building.
The victims — four adults and four children — were taken to nearby hospitals. The children are ages 6, 7, 12 and 14.
The preliminary investigation indicates an unknown man dressed in all black and wearing a black ski mask approached the fence line along Surf Avenue in Brooklyn and fired multiple rounds into the courtyard where a family barbecue was taking place before he ran away, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Sunday morning.
“There is no indication at this time that there was any argument or altercation at the barbecue before the shooting occurred,” Tisch said.
Police are investigating whether the shooting may be connected to a confirmed gang-related homicide on the same block last week, she said.
A TEC-9-style firearm equipped with an extended magazine was recovered at the scene, along with 10 spent shell casings, Tisch said. No one has been arrested.
Seven victims are expected to survive. A 21-year-old woman remains in critical condition after she was shot in the chest.
A 6-year-old boy was shot in the stomach, a 7-year-old boy was shot in both legs, a 12-year-old boy was shot in the leg, and a 14-year-old boy was shot in the thigh, according to police. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Sunday that all four children are expected to survive.
A section of the street remained closed Sunday morning while police investigated.
Evidence markers were on the sidewalk throughout the area, which remained cordoned off with yellow police tape. Bicycles lay abandoned nearby.
Nsowaa Stewart, a Coney Island resident, said she was “outraged” by what happened, especially the shooting of young children.
“This is an emergency, and this has to be addressed,” she told NBC New York at the scene.
“If you go by there, you see bikes, you see children’s toys. It’s horrible to walk by there,” Stewart said, adding, “This can’t happen again.”
