[Amy]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A woman was killed and four men were shot on Thursday afternoon when bullets starting flying on a popular Brooklyn beach boardwalk, police said.

The Brighton Beach boardwalk, just east of the famed Coney Island beach and amusement area, was packed with youths on the annual Brooklyn-Queens Day, a day off from school for students in the city's five boroughs.

Five people were shot on the boardwalk, including one woman who later died, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said. One was listed in critical condition and the injuries to the other three were not considered life threatening, he added.

Browne said two people fired into crowds on the boardwalk from the beach. It had not yet been determined whether the victims were the intended targets or bystanders, and the investigation was ongoing, Browne said.

Two people were being questioned but had not been named as suspects.

The victims were believed to be in their late teens or 20s, Browne said, but initial identification was difficult because most had been brought to area hospitals wearing only swimsuits.

Temperatures in New York City reached 95 degrees on Thursday, making beaches a big draw on a school day off.

Brighton Beach is a popular city beach destination just east of Coney Island and easily reachable by subway. The area is home to a large, growing Russian immigrant community.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110610/...VkZWFkZm91cm8-