Two gang members have been sentenced to between 50 years and life in prison, for killing two mothers in front of their own children, when they fired into a busy barbecue.

Nazir Saunders, 22, of Harlem and Anthony Alexander, 19, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, were sentenced by Brooklyn Supreme Court for the killings in July 2017.

Prosecutors say the pair opened fire on the party as part of a revenge gang shooting.

Saunders and Alexander had entered Stuyvesant Gardens on the evening of July 12, 2017, and fired into a crowd of 20 people enjoying a barbecue.

But the pair missed their targets and the bullets struck mothers, Chynna Battle, 21, in the head and Shaqwanda Staley, 29, in the back.

Here Anthony Alexander (above), 19, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, is led away by police, he has been jailed for the killing of two mothers, alongside Nazir Saunders, 22, of Harlem

Nazir Saunders, 22, of Harlem was sentenced to between 50 and life in prison for the murder or two murderers

The gang members fled to South Carolina after the shooting, where they were arrested by police months later.

District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, described the unthinkable damaged caused to the families of the 'two young, completely innocent women'.

Gonzalez said: 'Two innocent women lost their lives and two young girls were robbed of their mothers when these defendants opened fire without regard for who might be harmed by their bullets.

'I hope today’s prison sentence makes clear that there are serious consequences for those who devastate families and terrorize our communities with senseless acts of gun violence.'

Battle's cousin, Bianca Martin, 28, narrowly avoided death herself in the attack explaining how she got her daughter and left as soon as she heard gunshots.

'I turned around and saw people running and screaming. My little cousin ran through the building and told me 'Chynna got shot in the head!, Martin told New York Daily News.

Mothers Shaqwanda Staley (left), 29, and Chynna Battle (right), 21, both died as result of the gunshot wounds they suffered from Saunders and Alexander

Chynna Battlem 21, was shot in the head and died at the scene, she left behind a daughter, aged three, named Amelia nicknamed 'Mills' by her mother

The area in Stuyvesant Gardens where Saunders and Alexander killed the two mothers after firing into a crowd of 20 people enjoying a barbecue

Having only spoken to Battle 'three seconds before' the attack she struggled to believe that her relative was dead.

One witness told ABC7NY that they seemed to be 'firing indiscriminately' when they shot into the crowd.

The shootings happened on July 12 at around 9.30pm with the defendants firing around nine bullets from .45-caliber and .380-calibre guns.

Staley known locally as 'Q', who was shot in the back, was rushed to Kings County Hospital Center, where she later died. Near to her childhood home on Hancock Street, friends attached a photo of Staley to a red brick wall and wrote 'Q Baby! We love you' in chalk.

Battle, had worked as a hostess at Appelbees on Fulton Street in Brooklyn to support her daughter Amelia, now aged three.

After the incident, the family struggled to know how to explain the news.

Both Saunders and Alexander, fled to South Carolina, after committing double murder in July 2017

Family members of Chynna Battle pictured as they head into court today, a near two-year wait for Saunders and Alexander to be brought to justice

'All I could do was touch her face and walk away,' said Valda Battle, 38, the victim's aunt told The Daily News.

At the time, Mozelle Brown, Battle's mother said that she wanted the perpetrates to be caught and pay for their actions.

'I want whoever did this, that's my child, my baby, who is a good girl, and she died senselessly,' Brown to ABC7NY.

Another family member, Lynette Battle said that Chynna 'didn't deserve to die like this'.

Days after Battle’s death, Facebook user Tony Herbert, shared a video of the mother and her daughter – that has now reached over 145,000 views and has been shared over a thousand times.

In the footage the mother can be seen singing, while he daughter, known as ‘Mills’ plays in the background and has her mother fix her hair - ‘I love you’ the young girl tells her in a touch moment.

Online people expressed their sorrow with, Melissa Richburg writing: ‘This Is So Sad !! I Pray Everyday That The Gun Violence Stops !!’

Another, Adrienne Kittrell said: ‘So sad my heart aches for her family... Get those responsible for her death off the street...’

Judith Francis wrote: ‘R.I.P. Beautiful I just can't imagine the day when your baby girl realize that you will never sing with her physically again on earth. She will always feel your presence and love. My heart breaks watching that video’

Remembering her at the time, she said: 'Just a beautiful person, fiery personality, beautiful personality, anytime she walked in a room she lit it up and she didn't deserve to die like this.'

They were convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and a second degree count of possession of a weapon, by the court last month.