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Man arrested in Coney Island mass shooting that wounded 8, including 4 children

By

Charles Lane

Published Jul 8, 2026

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NYPD officers work at the scene after eight people, including four children, were shot in a mass shooting near the intersection of West 30th Street and Surf Avenue in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn.

 

Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images

By

Charles Lane

Published Jul 8, 2026

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Police arrested a 44-year-old man Wednesday in the July Fourth shooting that wounded eight people, including four children, at a Coney Island barbecue, according to the NYPD.

Robert Smith faces multiple counts of attempted murder in the attack, which happened around 10:35 p.m. Saturday near Surf Avenue and West 30th Street, police said.

The NYPD had not released additional charging documents Wednesday evening or said how investigators identified Smith or linked him to the shooting.

Smith had not yet been arraigned and attorney information was not immediately available.

A masked man dressed in black approached the fence line of an apartment courtyard and opened fire on the crowd before fleeing south on West 30th Street, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in the hours after the shooting. Police recovered a Tech-9-style gun with an extended magazine and 10 shell casings at the scene.

All eight victims are expected to survive. A 21-year-old woman who was shot in the chest remains in critical condition. The other seven victims, including four children ages 6, 7, 12 and 14, are in stable condition, police said.

Tisch said investigators were looking into whether the shooting was connected to a gang-related homicide on the same block earlier in the week. At the time, she said there was no known argument or altercation immediately before the barbecue shooting.

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Charles Lane

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Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715

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