Five People Shot on Boardwalk in Brighton Beach

Two men opened fire on the jam-packed boardwalk in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, Thursday evening and wounded five people — one fatally, the NYPD said.

The boardwalk was packed with teenagers who were off from school because of “Brooklyn-Queens Day” and seeking some relief from the sweltering weather.

“These kids come not to swim, they come for turf fights,” said Pat Singer, president of the Brighton Beach Neighborhood Association, according to the New York Post. “It’s a problem every year. All day long you see hundreds of teenagers, so of course you’re going to have problems.”

Two of the victims — a man and a woman in their 20s — were rushed in very critical condition at Coney Island Hospital, the FDNY said. The woman later died.

Saya Suzuki, 30, was just about to sit down inside a boardwalk restaurant with her six-year-old daughter, Sonya, when the shooting began just outside. Ms. Suzuki said she heard about six shots, then grabbed her daughter and saw two teenagers run by her.

“I just picked up my daughter and got away from the bullets,” she said. “It happened so quickly and I had to protect my daughter.”

As the police roped off the scene and combed the boardwalk, Ms. Suzuki, still terrified, stayed in the restaurant for two hours waiting for her husband. She said she had noticed other incidents earlier in the day that worried her.

“I think some gang things were happening because we heard some shots one hour earlier,” she said.

The two most seriously injured people, a man and a woman, were taken to Coney Island Hospital, where they are in critical condition, the Fire Department said. A second man, whose condition was not available, was also taken to Coney Island Hospital, the department said.

A fourth victim, a man, was in serious condition at Lutheran Medical Center, the Fire Department said. A fifth victim’s injuries were not life threatening, the police said.