Two Brooklyn Men Indicted on 88 Counts for July 4th Cookout Shooting That Wounded 8, Killed a Puppy
- 8 people shot during a Fourth of July cookout in a Coney Island courtyard, four of them children — Brooklyn DA press release, Aug. 12, 2026
- 88 counts in the grand jury indictment against Robert Smith and Kevin Blunt, including attempted murder and assault — Brooklyn DA press release
- 10-week-old puppy named Sky, shot and killed at the scene — Brooklyn Eagle
- 6 to 14 age range of the four boys shot, hit in the abdomen, both legs, a knee, and a thigh — Gothamist
Around 50 people had gathered in a courtyard near Surf Avenue and West 30th Street in Coney Island, Brooklyn, on the night of July 4, 2026, for a family Independence Day barbecue. Just before 10:37 p.m., a masked man dressed in black walked up to the fence line and opened fire on the crowd.
Eight people were struck — four children and four adults. A 10-week-old puppy named Sky, belonging to the youngest victim, was shot and killed. Brooklyn prosecutors say two men were responsible, and on August 12, 2026, a grand jury indicted both on 88 counts.
Both men are charged, not convicted. What follows is what prosecutors allege happened, what the indictment charges, and how the city responded.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s account, Robert Smith, 44, approached the courtyard fence and tried to fire into the crowd, but his gun jammed. Kevin Blunt, 44, allegedly helped him clear the jam. Smith then fired roughly 15 rounds into the gathering, prosecutors say. NYPD officers recovered a firearm fitted with an extended magazine and roughly 10 shell casings at the scene.
Four boys, ages 6, 7, 12, and 14, were hit by gunfire — wounds to the abdomen, both legs, a knee, and a thigh, respectively. Four adults, ages 21, 25, 33, and 37, were also struck; the 21-year-old was hit in the chest and listed in critical condition. All eight victims are expected to survive. The 6-year-old’s puppy, Sky, was shot in the head and killed — a detail investigators and family members have cited as evidence of how indiscriminately the gunfire tore through the courtyard.
Smith was on the run for four days. On July 8, 2026, the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force apprehended him. He was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun, ordered held without bail, and is due back in court October 14, 2026.
Blunt was taken into custody weeks later. He was arraigned before Justice Elizabeth Warin on August 3, 2026, also ordered held without bail, with his next court date set for August 19, 2026. Both men now face the same 88-count indictment jointly.
On August 12, 2026, Eric Gonzalez (D), the Brooklyn District Attorney, announced that a grand jury had indicted Smith and Blunt jointly on 88 counts: 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.
“These defendants are allegedly responsible for unleashing a barrage of gunfire into a courtyard packed with families celebrating the Fourth of July, striking eight people—including four children—and killing a six-year-old boy's puppy.”
Eric Gonzalez (D), Brooklyn District Attorney, Aug. 12, 2026
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Adam Ghalmi and Assistant District Attorney Cassidy Oliver, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Bureau Chief, and Executive Assistant District Attorney Joseph Alexis. Smith and Blunt have not been convicted of any of the 88 counts against them, and both remain presumed innocent as their cases proceed.
In the days after the shooting, Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) attended a “Stop Gun Violence” community rally in Coney Island. “Violence has no place in our city,” he said. “No place.” Council Member Kayla Santosuosso (D-WFP), whose District 47 covers Coney Island, also attended.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch (Mamdani administration), addressing reporters after the shooting, said: “We all have more work to do when we see four children shot in one incident celebrating the July Fourth holiday.” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (D) used the rally to call for federal action: “I wish congress would help us pass laws to stop these mass shootings.”
The Coney Island shooting was not an isolated incident that weekend. Citywide, 12 people were shot in gun violence across New York over the July 4th weekend, according to amNewYork — a reminder that the courtyard on Surf Avenue was one scene among several, even as it drew the most attention for the number of children involved and for the loss of a family’s puppy in the crossfire.
Prosecutors say Robert Smith, 44, and Kevin Blunt, 44, opened fire into a courtyard packed with roughly 50 people celebrating the Fourth of July in Coney Island, wounding eight — four of them children — and killing a 10-week-old puppy. A Brooklyn grand jury indicted both men jointly on 88 counts on August 12, 2026, including attempted murder and endangering the welfare of a child. Both are held without bail and both are presumed innocent unless and until a jury says otherwise. Smith is due back in court October 14; Blunt, August 19.
