Four children were among those wounded when gunfire hit a July Fourth barbecue near the Coney Island boardwalk.
BROOKLYN, NY — Police arrested and charged a 44-year-old man after eight people, including four children, were shot during a July Fourth family barbecue in Coney Island, authorities said Wednesday.
The arrest moved the case from a search for a masked gunman to a criminal prosecution in a shooting that shook a crowded holiday night near the beach. The NYPD identified the suspect as Robert Smith and said he faces multiple counts of attempted murder. Police have not announced a confirmed motive.
The shooting happened late July 4 in the courtyard of an apartment building near West 30th Street and Surf Avenue, about a block from the Coney Island boardwalk. Police said a family barbecue was underway when a man dressed in black and wearing a ski mask walked up to a fence line and opened fire into the courtyard. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at an earlier briefing that the gunman fired multiple rounds before fleeing on foot. The attack came after holiday crowds had gathered nearby for fireworks and other Independence Day events along the Brooklyn waterfront.
The victims ranged in age from 6 to 37, police said. Four boys, ages 6, 7, 12 and 14, were wounded. The adult victims included two women, ages 21 and 25, and two men, ages 33 and 37. A 21-year-old woman was reported in critical condition after the shooting, while the other seven victims were listed in stable condition and expected to recover. Police said officers and emergency medical workers moved the wounded to hospitals as the scene filled with sirens, witnesses and relatives trying to account for children and other family members.
Investigators recovered a gun at the scene, along with shell casings, according to police accounts of the early investigation. Authorities said the shooter fired from outside the courtyard fence, a detail that shaped the first phase of the search as detectives reviewed the block and looked for video that could track the suspect’s path away from the building. Police initially said no earlier disturbance had been reported at the barbecue. The precise sequence of events before the shots were fired remains under investigation, and officials have not said whether they believe anyone at the gathering was the intended target.
The shooting drew added attention because it happened during one of Coney Island’s busiest nights of the year. The neighborhood had already been crowded by July Fourth visitors, beachgoers and people leaving nearby holiday events. The courtyard where the shooting occurred sits close to Surf Avenue, the boardwalk and the amusement district, but police described the gathering as a family barbecue in a residential area. Residents and relatives told local reporters that the gunfire came suddenly, with some people first mistaking the shots for fireworks before realizing children and adults had been hit.
Police also examined whether the shooting had any link to earlier violence on the same block, including a fatal incident that authorities have described as possibly gang-related. Tisch said during the early investigation that detectives were looking at any possible connection, but officials had not confirmed a motive when the arrest was announced. Smith’s arrest was reported Wednesday, five days after the shooting. The charges announced by police include multiple counts of attempted murder, but court scheduling details and any attorney information for Smith were not immediately clear in the first public reports.
Family members of the victims had publicly called for an arrest as the investigation continued. Relatives described a chaotic scene at what was supposed to be a holiday gathering, with children bleeding and adults rushing to protect them. One grandmother of young victims, Carlene Pearsall, told reporters she wanted justice for the children and others hurt in the attack. Police said detectives continued gathering evidence after the arrest, including witness accounts, physical evidence and video from the area. Authorities have not said whether they are seeking additional suspects.
The case now moves through the courts as investigators continue to build the record behind the charges. Police said Smith was in custody after the Wednesday arrest, and the next public milestone is expected to come through court proceedings or an NYPD update on the evidence and motive.
Author note: Last updated July 9, 2026.