NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch released preliminary findings during a briefing on Sunday morning with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other officials.
She said officers responded to a shooting call on Surf Avenue and West 30th Street around 10:35 p.m.
When they arrived, officers found multiple victims suffering from gunshow wounds in the courtyard of 2930 West 30th Street.
"In total, eight people were shot, four adults and four children, ages 6, 7, 12 and 14," Tisch said. "The preliminary investigation indicates that a family barbecue was taking place in the courtyard when an unknown male dressed in all black and wearing a black ski mask approached the fenceline alone Surf Avenue and fired multiple rounds into the courtyard."
The suspect fled the scene on foot.
Tisch said there was no indication of an argument or altercation before the shooting and investigators are probing a possible connection to a gang-related homicide earlier in the week on the same block.
A TEC-9 gun with an extended magazine was recovered along with 10 shell casings. Seven of the victims are "not likely to die." The 21-year-old woman was shot in the chest and is in critical condition.
"There is no place for this kind of violence in our city. We will not tolerate it, and we will fight it with every single tool at our disposal," said Mamdani.