A Brooklyn grand jury has handed up an 88-count indictment against two men accused of opening fire on a Fourth of July family barbecue in Coney Island, a courtyard ambush that wounded eight people, including four children, and killed a 10-week-old puppy named Sky. Robert Smith, identified as the alleged gunman, and Kevin Blunt, accused of helping him clear a jammed firearm mid-attack, are both being held without bail as the case moves toward trial.
According to the Kings County District Attorney's Office, the indictment charges both men with first- and second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, first- and second-degree criminal use of a firearm, second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree attempted assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, and endangering the welfare of a child. Smith, 44, was arraigned Wednesday before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun, while Blunt, also 44, was arraigned on August 3 before Justice Elizabeth Warin — both judges ordered the defendants held without bail, and as reported by News12 New York, Smith is due back in court October 14, with Blunt scheduled to return August 19.
An Ambush at a Family Cookout
The shooting unfolded in the front courtyard of a residential building near Surf Avenue and West 30th Street, less than two blocks from Coney Island's Riegelmann Boardwalk, according to inkl. Around 50 people had gathered for a Fourth of July family barbecue when, per News12's report, a gunman approached and fired roughly 15 rounds through the fence into the crowd. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the shooter wore all black with a black ski mask and opened fire around 10:35 p.m. without any reported argument or dispute at the gathering, a detail Tisch shared in remarks noted on NYC.gov.
Four children were among the eight wounded: a 6-year-old boy was shot in the stomach, while a 7-year-old, a 12-year-old, and a 14-year-old each suffered gunshot wounds to the lower extremities, News12's report states. The four adult victims were ages 21, 25, 33, and 37, the Kings County District Attorney's Office disclosed. All eight were rushed to nearby hospitals, and seven are expected to recover. The 21-year-old victim, identified as Dasha, remained in critical condition after being shot in the chest, according to prosecutors — her outcome remains an open question that could affect the severity of charges going forward.
The barbecue's youngest attendee lost more than her sense of safety that night. Sky, a 10-week-old puppy belonging to one of the victims, was shot in the head and killed, per the same News12 account.
Video Evidence Anchors the Case
Prosecutors say surveillance footage captured the entire episode — before, during, and after the shooting — and that the video shows Smith's gun jamming mid-attack, with Blunt allegedly helping him clear it so he could resume firing into the courtyard. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez credited Detective Omar Santiago of the Brooklyn South Video Team and Detective Andrew Noto of the 60th Precinct Detective Squad with leading the investigation that produced the indictments, the DA's office said.
“The fact that no person was killed is extraordinary, but it does not diminish the alleged recklessness and brutality of this attack,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “We will now seek to hold both defendants fully accountable for the devastation they are accused of causing.”
Smith was captured four days after the shooting by the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force and was walked out of the 60th Precinct in handcuffs by officers, per News12's reporting. Blunt was later taken into custody by U.S. Marshals at the 84th Precinct.
A Rare Spike Amid Record-Low Violence
The mass shooting stands in stark contrast to Brooklyn's broader crime trends this year. The borough logged a historic 29 consecutive days without a homicide in July — the longest such streak in its modern history — while overall homicides fell 37% and shooting incidents dropped 16% year-to-date, the Kings County District Attorney's Office reported. Citywide, the NYPD said it recovered more than 3,000 illegal firearms during the first seven months of 2026.
Even so, officials have acknowledged a troubling undercurrent within those improving numbers. NYPD officials noted in June that the share of shootings involving juvenile victims or perpetrators had risen compared with the prior year, according to CBS News — a trend that echoes through a case where four of the eight people struck by gunfire were children.
The Coney Island shooting followed closely on the heels of a separate holiday-weekend shooting at the neighborhood's fireworks display, which Hoodline first reported that same weekend. Weeks later, another Brooklyn shooting outside a Clinton Hill townhouse cited the Coney Island barbecue attack as recent local context, underscoring how the case has continued to loom over the borough's summer even as prosecutors now move toward trial against Smith and Blunt.
