Gunman shoots up pre-July Fourth cookout in NYC

A gunman targeted a pre-Fourth of July cookout on Monday, sending three men to the hospital, authorities said.

The victims were grilling on the sidewalk outside a Walton Ave. apartment building near E. 161st St. at 8:16 p.m. when the attacker unleashed a hail of gunfire into the unsuspecting crowd, according to police and witnesses.

A witness sitting on a bench at Joyce Kilmer Park located across the street from the shooting said she spotted the gunman creeping south along Walton Ave. when he started pouring rounds into the cookout.

“It was pop, pop, pop — about 10 shots,” said the witness, who refused to give her name. “They were just sitting there at the cookout. He was creeping on them and shot it up.”

“It’s crazy! People can’t even enjoy life,” she told the Daily News.

Paramedics rushed two of the victims to Lincoln Hospital immediately after the shooting, cops said.

A third victim fled the scene and was found by police shortly after, according to law enforcement sources.

All victims of the shooting are expected to survive, according to police.

No arrests have been made.