Gunfire Erupts At Crowded Intersection In Coney Island

Four people were wounded Sunday afternoon during a shootout at a crowded intersection in Coney Island.

Gunfire erupted just after 2:30pm at the corner of West 16th Street and Mermaid Avenue, police say. When officers arrived, they found two men, ages 26 and 31, with gunshot wounds. They were rushed to Lutheran Hospital and are in stable condition, according to authorities.

Police say bullets hit two other man, both 21 years old, who were taken by private means to Coney Island Hospital.

No arrests have been made and the investigation in ongoing, according to the NYPD.

The shooting took place at a busy intersection — across the street from a laundromat where families, some with young children, were carrying clothes.

One man, who joined the crowd of bystanders outside the police tape, said the senseless gun violence put everyone’s lives at risk. He said he did not witness the shooting, but asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals.

“These guys should be more aware that there are children in the neighborhood who would like to grow up,” he said. “They should take this stuff somewhere else and it should be settled without gun violence.”

There were at least three bullet holes in the side of a grey SUV at the southeast corner of the intersection. One of the vehicle’s windows was also shot out. Police recovered a handgun underneath the car. Plastic cups, topped with little stones to keep the wind from blowing them away were scattered around the car, presumably marking bullet casings.

Across the street, the driver-side door of a red minivan had also been shattered.

The owner of a local business, who also asked not to be identified, said he heard five or six gunshots.

“I dove behind the counter. I was so scared,” he explained.

A witness told the Daily News he saw six men arguing outside the S&M Mini Market on the southeast corner of the intersection. After the shooting started, some of the men took cover behind the grey SUV and began firing, the man said.

“Some of the guys were behind the car. Others went into the deli. Others ran toward Neptune. It was crazy,” he told the Daily News. “Never seen nothing like it.”

The gun battle on Mermaid Avenue occurred barely ten hours after another shooting took place a block up the road — at Neptune Avenue and West 16th Street, according to the Daily News.

The shooting, which happened around 4:30am, wounded a 38-year-old bystander who was shot in the back.

Police told the Daily News the early-morning shooting appeared to have been caused by a dispute between a man and a woman.