At least eight people, including four children, were injured when a masked gunman opened fire on a family barbecue in Brooklyn’s Coney Island late on the Fourth of July, police said.
NYPD officers responded to reports of gunfire at around 10:35 p.m., Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a news briefing Sunday morning.
According to Tisch, an unidentified man dressed entirely in black and wearing a black ski mask approached the gathering and fired multiple rounds at the family celebration.
Police said there was no indication that an argument or confrontation took place before the shooting.
A 21-year-old woman was shot in the chest and remained in critical condition, the NYPD told CBS News. The other seven victims were listed in stable condition.
Four of those injured were children between the ages of 6 and 14.
The youngest victim, a 6-year-old child, was shot in the stomach. A 7-year-old boy was struck 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.
Authorities said a firearm was recovered at the scene. No arrests had been made as of early Sunday, and the investigation remained ongoing.
Tisch said police do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the public.
However, investigators are examining whether the shooting may be connected to a gang-related homicide that occurred on the same block earlier in the week.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the violence during the Sunday morning briefing.
“There is no place for this kind of violence in this city,” Mamdani said. “We will not tolerate it and we will fight it with every tool at our disposal.”
“As we mourn alongside those whose loved ones have been hurt, let us also recommit ourselves to the work of building a city where every celebration is safe and every holiday is joyful,” he added.