Five shot in Coney Island, NYPD recovers firearm at scene

Five people were shot outside 2929 West 31st St. in Coney Island just after 10:30 p.m. Saturday, and the New York Police Department recovered a firearm at the scene. All five victims were taken to area hospitals, four were expected to recover and one remained in critical condition.

No arrests had been made and the investigation was ongoing as officers worked the block on a holiday night when Coney Island was still drawing crowds tied to July 4.

Just three days earlier, 24-year-old Truron Roachmartin of Brooklyn was shot to death near West 28th Street and Surf Avenue, steps from the Coney Island Boardwalk, ahead of the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Brooklyn prosecutors and the NYPD announced a 113-count indictment against 15 teenagers in a gang case tied to Coney Island violence. The case was linked to 16 shootings over 13 months, with 182 shots fired from 33 guns, and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said it reflected a violent, retaliatory cycle of gunfire in and around the area.

Coney Island has already seen other shootings this year. On March 24, two teenage girls, ages 16 and 14, were shot in front of a McDonald’s on Mermaid Avenue, and both were expected to survive. In February 2023, four people were shot near West 33rd Street and Mermaid Avenue, including a 17-year-old boy, a 22-year-old man, a 25-year-old man and a 26-year-old man, all of whom were in stable condition.