Holiday violence leaves at least five dead nationwide

Fourth of July celebrations across the country were disrupted by shootings and a fireworks explosion that left at least five people dead and scores injured in several cities, including New York, Pensacola, Fort Wayne, Compton and Chino.

In Brooklyn’s Coney Island neighborhood, a gunman wearing all black and a black ski mask opened fire late Saturday on a family barbecue, wounding at least eight people, including four children, police said. The shooting happened about 10:35 p.m. on West 30th Street, not far from a boardwalk where a fireworks display had been held less than an hour earlier.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the victims were found in a courtyard. “An unknown male dressed in all-black and wearing a black ski-mask approached the fence line and fired multiple rounds into the courtyard and then fled on foot,” Tisch said. “There is no indication at this time that there was any argument or altercation at the barbecue before the shooting occurred.”

The wounded included a 21-year-old woman shot in the chest who remained in critical condition, police said. Seven other victims were expected to survive. The Guardian reported that police recovered a pistol with an extended magazine and 10 shell casings. No arrests had been made. Tisch said police were examining whether the shooting was connected to a recent gang-related homicide on the same block.

Zohran Mamdani, identified by The Guardian as New York’s mayor, said at the briefing that there is “no place in our city for this kind of violence.” He added, “We will not tolerate it. And we will fight it with every tool at our disposal.”

In downtown Pensacola, Florida, a 19-year-old was killed and six others were wounded by gunfire after 1 a.m. Sunday. Pensacola Police Chief Eric Winstrom said investigators believed the shooting was targeted and that no one was in custody. The victims ranged in age from 16 to 26. “The youngest victim in this case was 16, the age range was 16 to 26 of the seven victims — very young, innocent kids out there,” Winstrom said.

In Fort Wayne, Indiana, police responding after 3 a.m. Sunday to the 2200 block of Oliver Street found one woman dead. Eight adults were treated for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, the Fort Wayne Police Department said.

Two people were killed and three others injured in Compton, California, at a large Fourth of July party at an apartment complex on West Laurel Street around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. A woman and a man were pronounced dead at the scene. A man remained in critical condition, while a woman and a female juvenile suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Other holiday violence included a shooting in Dayton, Ohio, where four people were injured July 3 in the Oregon District after businesses and bars had closed, according to the Oregon District Business Association. In St. Louis, a 17-year-old boy was killed around midnight Saturday, and two 16-year-old boys were dropped off at a hospital with gunshot wounds, police said.

In Canton, Ohio, a 46-year-old woman was shot in the back while asleep in bed after a suspect and others reportedly fired weapons into the air and set off fireworks, police said. She was hospitalized in critical condition. Darius J. Leishman, 24, was arrested and charged with felonious assault and improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation.

“The idea that firing weapons randomly into the air has no consequences, or knowing and ignoring those consequences is outrageous,” Canton Police Chief John Gabbard said. “‘Celebratory gunfire’ is dangerous and illegal.”

In Chino, California, a fireworks explosion killed a woman in her 20s and critically injured two other adults after police responded to a reported vehicle fire Saturday night. Police said the blast was believed to have been caused by a large quantity of ignited fireworks. Derion Tradon James Jr., 28, of Hesperia, was detained and booked on an involuntary manslaughter charge.