A shooting late on July 4, 2026, in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, left at least eight people injured, including four children, police said [1, 2, 3, 4]. The victims ranged in age from 6 to 37 years old and included two men, two women, and four children aged 6, 7, 12, and 14 years old [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Among the injured, a 21-year-old woman suffered a critical gunshot wound to the chest and was in critical condition, while the other seven victims were reported stable in hospital [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].
The shooting happened around 10:35 to 10:37 p.m. local time near West 31st Street and Surf Avenue, close to the Coney Island boardwalk and Seapark Apartments [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Some reports place the origin of the shooting near the courtyard of Seapark Apartments on West 30th Street during a family barbecue [8, 9]. Responding officers found at least ten shell casings, a firearm, and an extended magazine at the scene [1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9].
Witnesses described seeing multiple victims shot amid the July 4th fireworks celebrations marking the US 250th Independence Day, which drew crowds to the area [1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11]. A local grocery store clerk recalled police running while carrying injured children, noting, "I saw police carrying small kids running. Police said they found a backpack with a gun under a tree. Honestly, I’m scared. Since so many people were shot, I think there was more than one shooter" [8]. Police have not confirmed the number of attackers or their identities [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. A suspect described by some witnesses as a black-clad man wearing a black ski mask reportedly fled the scene south along West 30th Street towards Surf Avenue [8, 9].
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the violence and pledged to use all means to combat such incidents, saying, "Our city will not tolerate this kind of violence. We will not stand by and will use every tool to fight it" [8]. Police noted there was a gang-related homicide in the same neighborhood a week earlier and are investigating possible links to the shooting [8].
Law enforcement responded swiftly after receiving calls around 10:37 p.m., with multiple officers on scene by 10:40 p.m. working to provide medical aid, especially to the injured children [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11]. No arrests have been announced yet, and the investigation remains active [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11]. Authorities continue to seek witnesses and review surveillance footage to identify the shooter or shooters.
