A Fourth of July barbecue became a crime scene after a masked gunman allegedly targeted the gathering, injuring eight people.

A Fourth of July family barbecue in Coney Island turned into a crime scene after a masked gunman allegedly walked up to a courtyard fence and opened fire on the gathering, injuring eight people, including four children.

Gun rights commentator Colion Noir covered the shooting in a video built around a LiveNOW from FOX report by Lisa Evers, using the incident to argue that New York City’s strict gun laws did not stop a targeted act of violence. Noir said the most important detail in the news clip was not only the number of victims, but Evers’ statement that the shooting likely was not random.

According to the report shown in Noir’s video, the victims included four children ages 6, 7, 12, and 14. A 21-year-old woman was also shot in the chest and was described as critically injured, while other adults were also wounded during the attack.

Noir said the case should force people to ask whether laws aimed at lawful gun owners can realistically stop someone who is already willing to walk up to a family celebration in a ski mask and fire into a crowd.

“The man who plans a hit and walks up in a ski mask is not the man filling out paperwork,” Noir said.

A Holiday Gathering Turns Violent

In the LiveNOW from FOX segment included in Noir’s video, Evers described a Fourth of July celebration that had drawn large, peaceful crowds across New York before violence broke out locally later that night.

Evers said additional NYPD officers had already been deployed for the holiday, but the gunman still managed to approach the barbecue and begin shooting. She reported that the attacker was wearing a face mask and went into the area where people had gathered.

The detail that shaped Noir’s argument came when Evers said the shooting “definitely wasn’t random” because of the location and because the person who opened fire appeared to know who would be there.

That distinction matters in any crime story because a random public shooting and an allegedly targeted attack can carry very different implications for investigators, victims, and the community. A targeted shooting suggests planning, motive, and possibly a broader conflict behind the violence.

Evers also noted that a major gang takedown had recently occurred in the Coney Island area and said shootings can sometimes follow such operations as retaliation. The report did not state that police had confirmed that motive in this case, but it presented the possibility as part of what investigators were examining.

Noir Says The Targeted Nature Changes The Debate

Noir seized on that part of the report, arguing that it undermines the argument that more restrictions on lawful gun purchases would have prevented the attack.

He said the shooting did not sound like the kind of incident where a person legally bought a gun, passed a background check, and then suddenly acted violently. Instead, he framed it as an alleged targeted attack connected to the kind of street violence that does not respond to paperwork or permit rules.

“So tell me which New York gun law was ever going to stop that,” Noir said, listing waiting periods, magazine limits, and additional forms as examples of regulations he believes would not matter to someone planning a shooting.

His point was not subtle, but it was consistent with the argument he has made in other videos: laws that mainly affect people who obey them may do little to stop people who are already operating outside the law.

That argument is central to the gun-rights side of the debate, and this case gives it emotional force because the victims included small children at a holiday barbecue. Still, it is also worth saying carefully that the existence of one violent attack does not by itself settle every question about gun policy, policing, poverty, gangs, or prevention.

What Noir’s commentary does show is how quickly a single incident can become part of a much larger political argument, especially when it happens in a city known for strict gun laws.

Children Among The Victims

Noir repeatedly returned to the ages of the children who were shot, saying they were 6, 7, 12, and 14.

That part of the story gave the shooting its deepest weight. The victims were not described as combatants or people seeking conflict; they were at a family barbecue during one of the country’s most public holidays.

Noir emphasized that point while criticizing the idea that New York’s gun laws had protected the people at the gathering.

“The family at that barbecue, the law made sure they didn’t,” Noir said, arguing that ordinary people in the courtyard were unlikely to have a way to defend themselves when the gunman appeared.

That claim reflects Noir’s pro-gun perspective, and it should be understood as commentary rather than a neutral finding about what any individual victim could or should have done. In a crowded family setting with children present, even armed self-defense would involve serious risks and split-second uncertainty.

But the fear behind his argument is easy to understand. When violence erupts suddenly, the people present may have only seconds to react, while police may still be minutes away even in a heavily patrolled city.

Another Shooting Involving Police Added To The Argument

Noir also referenced another Brooklyn incident from the same broader period, saying an 18-year-old opened fire on two officers sitting in an unmarked car and that one officer was struck in the vest.

He pointed to that case to argue that even police are not fully protected by gun laws when a person is determined to violate them.

“He’s 18. He can’t legally buy that gun,” Noir said. “You can’t legally carry it anywhere in New York. He used it anyway.”

In the news clip, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was shown responding to the officer’s injury, saying she was relieved that Detective Carol was expected to make a full recovery and praising officers who “run toward danger” to protect New Yorkers.

Noir said he was glad the detective was expected to recover, but argued that the governor’s statement also highlighted a limitation of relying on police response alone.

“Cops can’t be at every barbecue,” he said.

That is a fair practical point even for people who do not share Noir’s broader politics. Police response matters, and police presence can deter some crimes, but officers are rarely standing exactly where an attack begins.

“Feeling Safe And Being Safe” Are Not The Same

Noir used the Coney Island shooting to describe New York as what he called the “control group” for gun control, pointing to strict laws, a large police force, and extensive cameras.

He also referenced the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, arguing that after the ruling, New York still created broad restrictions that made much of the city difficult for lawful carry.

In Noir’s view, the result is a system where criminals remain armed while ordinary residents are discouraged or prevented from carrying defensive firearms.

“Feeling safe and being safe were never the same thing,” he said.

That line captures the emotional core of his commentary. He believes New York’s public-safety structure gives residents the impression of protection while leaving them personally vulnerable during the first moments of an attack.

Critics of that view would argue that more guns in crowded places can create added dangers, especially during chaotic shootings where police and bystanders may not know who the threat is. Supporters of Noir’s view would respond that disarmed victims have no meaningful option once a shooter arrives.

The Coney Island case sits directly in that divide because the horror of children being shot at a family gathering makes the question feel less theoretical.

A Crime Story Becomes A Policy Argument

The report discussed by Noir did not identify the shooter or state that an arrest had been made in the clip he used. It also did not confirm a final motive, though Evers said the shooting appeared targeted and discussed a possible connection to recent gang activity in the area.

Noir’s video used those details to make a broader case against New York’s gun laws, arguing that lawmakers focus too much on restrictions that reach lawful people and not enough on the conditions and criminal networks that drive targeted violence.

He mentioned gangs, poverty, and neglected blocks as deeper issues that cannot be solved simply by passing another gun bill.

That part of his commentary is important because it moves beyond the usual talking point that “gun laws don’t work.” Noir’s more specific claim is that the law reaches the compliant person at the barbecue, but not the masked attacker who has already decided to commit a serious crime.

Whether readers agree with Noir’s conclusion or not, the shooting itself remains the center of the story: eight people injured at a family barbecue, four of them children, in a city that had already increased police presence for the holiday.

The investigation may eventually answer who carried out the attack and why, but the video shows how the incident immediately became part of a larger argument about public safety, self-defense, and whether strict laws can protect people during the moments when violence actually arrives.

For Noir, the lesson was direct: get permitted, get trained, and be prepared to defend yourself because police may be on the way but not yet there. For the families in Coney Island, the more immediate reality was simpler and more painful: a holiday gathering ended with children and adults in the hospital after someone allegedly chose to turn a barbecue into a target.