Prosecutors have charged 18-year-old Brooklyn resident Brian Dowling with the murder of prominent New York City activist Ryan Carson, CBS News reported Thursday.
Police took Dowling into custody Thursday morning, and after a questioning at the 81st Precinct, prosecutors formally charged him with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, according to CBS News.
The incident occurred around 4 a.m. Monday. Surveillance footage captured Carson and his girlfriend sitting at a bus stop on Malcolm X Boulevard in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, per CBS News. The video shows a man, suspected to be Dowling, walking past the couple without any initial interaction.
The footage then shows the suspect apparently kicking over several moped scooters on the sidewalk. When Carson confronted the suspect, the suspect reportedly asked, “What are you looking at?”
Despite Carson’s attempts to de-escalate the situation, the suspect reportedly took out a knife and apparently attacked him. The suspect apparently stabbed Carson three times, with one wound piercing his heart, the outlet noted.
“As Mr. Carson lay dying on the sidewalk, the male with the knife kicks him in the chest, threatens to stab the woman companion and spits in her face,” New York Police Department (NYPD) Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a briefing, CBS News reported.
BREAKING: A person of interest, Brian Dowling, is in custody in connection with the stabbing of Brooklyn, New York, activist Ryan Carson, police sources tell ABC News. @trevorlault joins @dianermacedo for more. pic.twitter.com/uoMx6EPdiT
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) October 5, 2023
Kenny stated there is no evidence to suggest Dowling had any prior acquaintance with Carson or his girlfriend. (RELATED: Watch: Video Captures Daytime Stabbing In Middle Of New York Street)
Ryan Carson was a prominent activist recognized for his advocacy against opioid overdoses. Many have paid tribute to Carson, including Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, CBS News noted.