STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The husband and wife caught in a hail of bullets outside their New Brighton home Sunday are beloved members of the community who regularly offered guidance and support to local kids.

Neighbors described Pat Vamosy-Schmidt, 63, and her husband, Ed Schmidt, 71, as sweet and caring people who were likely in the wrong place at the wrong time early Sunday evening when shots rang out on Jersey Street.

"To my knowledge, she was inside, heard the shots, came out to see if everything was OK and then she got hit," said Jesse Allen, a neighbor who said he'd known Ms. Vamosy-Schmidt since birth and credited her with "helping raise most of the kids on the block."

Allen said he was relaxing in his room when the shots were fired -- a few at first, followed by a heavy barrage "like they emptied the whole clip." Police said at least 10 rounds were fired.

"At first I thought nothing of it, I thought it was a firecracker. Beautiful day, kids might be playing around," Allen said. "But then when I heard more and more and more, it sinks your heart because you know, once those shots get fired, someone's going to get hurt."

Allen came down from his room to see what happened after hearing his dear neighbor had been struck. The sight made him sick to his stomach.

"[She's a] strong woman, but to see her so shaken, her and her husband getting wounded senselessly, I've never seen her look so vulnerable," he said. "That hurt me personally. You know, to see her so distraught. I just pray for her and her family. I really do."

Allen said he believes a single shot struck both husband and wife as they stood on the small stoop in front of their apartment, which faces Mahoney Playground.

Ms. Vamosy-Schmidt was shot in her right forearm and her husband, Ed, was hit in the abdomen, police said. Allen said Ms. Vamosy-Schmidt entered the ambulance under her own power, but that her husband had to be removed from the home on a stretcher. Both were taken to Richmond University Medical Center.

A RUMC spokesman said Monday that Ms. Vamosy-Schmidt was in stable condition and that her husband was in critical but stable condition.

Police are searching for two suspects, who are believed to have fled on dirt bikes, in connection with the shooting.

Allen said he didn't see the bikers, but that it's typical for groups of people to ride dirt bikes up and down the block.

"They always do stupidity around here," said Joseph Raggi, a friend of Allen's who grew up in the neighborhood and remains close to Ms. Vamosy-Schmidt. "A lot of people just like to show off and be stupid, honestly."

Neither Allen nor Raggi believe the couple was targeted, and police said they have no motive.

"I don't know anybody who would hurt Miss Pat," Allen said. "She's a pillar of the community. Loved by all around here."

A longtime friend and neighbor of the Schmidts who was inside folding freshly laundered clothing when the shooting occurred called it a "freak accident."

"It happens," the neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, said of bullets being fired haphazardly in the area. "Believe me.

"That's why I never run to my door."

Allen and Raggi had hoped to visit the Schmidts at the hospital early Monday morning, but were told by hospital staff that they couldn't receive visitors yet. They're hoping to see them later in the day.

"We've been up almost since 6, 7 o'clock last night just worried completely sick," Raggi said, growing emotional. "Honestly, I don't even know what to say. I love Miss Pat, I love Ed."