8 Shot, Including 4 Kids, When Masked Person Attacks Coney Island Cookout: NYPD

NEW YORK — A masked shooter opened fire on a family holding a Fourth of July cookout Saturday, injuring eight, including four children, according to authorities.

The attack occurred just after 10:30 p.m. in the 2900 block of West 31st Street, police said, just blocks from Coney Island Beach.

A 21-year-old woman who was shot in the chest was in critical condition, according to police, who said the other victims were stable, with all eight taken to local hospitals.

The victims included a 6-year-old boy shot in the abdomen, a 7-year-old boy shot in both legs, a 12-year-old boy shot in the leg, a 14-year-old boy shot in the thigh, a 25-year-old woman shot in the leg, a 33-year-old man shot in the chest and a 37-year-old man shot in the shoulder, police said.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said a suspect wearing a black mask fired into the courtyard of an apartment building where the family had gathered for a cookout. The shooter fled, but police did recover a gun, Tisch said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.