Mamdani speaks out after Coney Island July 4 mass shooting

Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke out against a July 4 shooting in Coney Island that injured eight, including four children, calling the incident "an unconscionable act of gun violence."

An investigation is underway.

Here's what we know so far, and what Mamdani said.

Coney Island July 4 shooting

As thousands of visitors and locals flocked to the boardwalk for fireworks, gunfire rang out at an apartment complex on Surf Avenue at around 10:40 p.m. on Fourth of July, the Times reported.

Four children, aged 6, 7, 12 and 14 were all injured in the mass shooting, alongside four other adults. A 21-year-old woman, one of the victims, was in critical condition on Sunday morning.

NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch said that a family barbecue had been taking place "when an unknown male dressed in all black and wearing a black ski mask approached the fenceline along Surf Avenue and fired multiple rounds into the courtyard." Tisch said that seemingly no altercation had occurred beforehand, and said that they were looking into if the incident may be tied to a homicide earlier in the week, on the same block, that was deemed gang-related.

The suspect fled on foot, and as of Sunday, had not been apprehended by police yet. The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment by USA TODAY Network on Monday.

Around 4:15 a.m. Sunday morning, police say that an 18-year-old man approached two officers in their police cruiser and opened fire after officers got out of their vehicle. A detective was shot in the back in the separate incident, but was protected by his bulletproof vest, police said. A suspect had been taken into custody.

Mamdani speaks out after shooting

"Last night in Coney Island, eight people - including four children - were shot when a family barbecue was shattered by an unconscionable act of gun violence. Coney Island is a neighborhood where generations of New Yorkers come together every summer to celebrate the Fourth of July, making this mass shooting all the more heartbreaking," Mamdani wrote on X Sunday night.

"No parent should have to fear taking their child to a family barbecue. No child should ever have to experience the trauma of gun violence. Our administration is committed to taking an all-of-government approach to public safety and to protecting every New Yorker."

Earlier in the day, Mamdani said that there was "no place for this kind of violence in our city," and that "we will not tolerate it, we will fight it with every single tool at our disposal."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mamdani speaks out after Coney Island July 4 mass shooting

Reporting by Amethyst Martinez, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 12:58 PM.