Cops nab suspect in 4th of July shooting at family cookout that left 8 wounded — including 4 children

Police have a suspect in custody in the cowardly July 4th mᴀss shooting at a Coney Island barbecue that left eight members of the same family wounded — including four young children.

Robert Smith, 44, was charged with multiple counts of attempted murder Wednesday after being tied to the senseless Independence Day attack that stunned the Big Apple, the NYPD said on X.

Police have not said what may have prompted the shooting, but sources said it could be gang related.

Robert Smith being led out of the 60th precinct in Brooklyn following his arrest for a mᴀss shooting.
Robert Smith, 44, was arrested for his involvement in a July 4th mᴀss shooting at a Coney Island barbecue.Robert Mecea for New York Post
Robert Smith, in a gray hoodie and orange pants, led out of the 60th precinct by two officers, with a third officer standing guard.
Smith was charged with multiple counts of attempted murder.Robert Mecea for New York Post
Police officers and evidence markers are seen at the scene of a shooting in Brooklyn, NY.
Eight members of one family, as young as 6, were wounded when Smith opened fire at a July 4th cookout.Christopher Sadowski for NY Post

The family was celebrating the holiday on Saturday night at a Coney Island park when a masked gunman draped in black opened fire on the group, sending them scrambling and leaving several wounded.

Smith’s arrest in the shooting comes one day after grandmother Carlene Pearsall made an emotional plea for justice during a speech near the crime scene by Mayor Zohran Maamdani.

“They sH๏τ our babies,” Pearsall said. “This is senseless. Our kids did not deserve that. My son is laying in a hospital bed saying, ‘Mom, what did I do to deserve this?’ Son, you did absolutely nothing.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” she sobbed. “It’s babies. It has to stop. It has to stop.”

A child's toy car splattered with blood at the scene of a shooting in Coney Island.
Smith, clad in black, fired into the crowd at a Coney Island park before fleeing, leaving eight wounded.Lone Pine Press for NY Post
The aftermath of a 4th of July mᴀss shooting in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Police said the July 4th Coney Island shooting could possibly be gang-related.Lone Pine Press for NY Post

The barrage of bullets left Pearsall’s 6-year-old grandson with a stomach wound, and three other youngsters — her 14-year-old son and 7- and 12-year-old nephews — with gunsH๏τ wounds to the legs.

Also sH๏τ were her nieces, 21 and 25, and her 33- and 37-year-old cousins.

Sources said Smith, who was arrested at his home in Brooklyn on Wednesday morning, has at least one prior gun bust in the borough from 2012.

Additional reporting by Tina Moore