Shootings broke out Saturday night and early Sunday morning in Brooklyn after a day of heat-baked July Fourth celebrations.
Police said the first major incident occurred around 10:35 p.m. when someone opened fire on a Coney Island family barbecue at Surf Avenue and West 30th Street. Police said eight people had been struck with gunshots, including four children aged 6, 7, 12 and 14 years old. As of Sunday morning, there were no fatalities, though there was one victim in critical condition, police said. All others are listed in stable condition.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters Sunday that an unknown man dressed in all black and wearing a black ski mask approached the fence line in front of a courtyard of the apartment building and fired multiple bullets into the crowd. He fled southbound on West 30th Street. Police recovered a “Tech-9” styled gun with an extended magazine and 10 bullet casings at the scene of the crime.
Among the adults, police said a 21-year-old woman was shot in the chest and is listed in critical condition. The other seven victims are in stable condition.
Tisch said there was a confirmed gang-related homicide on the same block earlier this week.
“We are looking into whether there is a nexus between the two incidents,” Tisch said, adding that there was no immediate altercation or argument before the barbecue shooting.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said gun violence has to stop, even as the city has had a record-low number of shootings so far this year.
"There is no place for this kind of violence in our city," Mamdani said. "We will not tolerate it and we will fight it with every single tool at our disposal."
Hours later, the NYPD said, a police detective was shot in a separate incident when police came under fire inside an unmarked vehicle. A man with a gun approached the car in Crown Heights with three other officers inside. Police officials said there is no body-camera footage of the incident because it happened quickly, but one officer was shot in the back of his ballistic vest. Police did not say how many rounds were fired.
Three officers also fired their weapons but missed the suspect, according to police. He was arrested a few blocks away at Rogers Avenue and Union Street after the shooting, and only identified him as an 18-year-old male.
The officer that was shot was identified as Robert Karroll and is in stable condition. He and the other officers were assigned as safety details for July Fourth celebrations throughout the day, including the Sail250 event in the New York Harbor.
New York City had a busy weekend celebrating the holiday, including the tall ship parade and the Macy’s fireworks display.
This story is based on preliminary information from the NYPD and may be updated.
This story corrects the spelling of Det. Robert Karroll's name. It was incorrectly spelled with a "C' in a previous version.
