A 20-year-old Brooklyn man on Wednesday was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the unprovoked stabbing death of social justice activist Ryan Carson in Bedford-Stuyvesant in 2023.
Brian Dowling, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, was sentenced by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun after pleading guilty last month to second-degree murder, according to a press release. The attack was caught on surveillance video and showed Dowling fatally stabbing Carson in an apparently random attack.
The attack occurred on Oct. 2, 2023, at approximately 3:50am outside 57 Malcolm X Blvd. Dowling was seen walking angrily down the street, kicking parked scooters before turning his attention to Carson, 32, who was walking nearby with his girlfriend.
Dowling then began shouting at Carson, saying, “I’m going to kill you,” before swinging a knife at him. Carson, who attempted to de-escalate the situation, tried to flee but fell over a bus stop bench. Dowling ran up to him and stabbed him multiple times, including his heart.
The defendant discarded the knife but later returned to retrieve it. A police search later uncovered the weapon hidden under nearby greenery.
Dowling turned himself in later that week. In his apartment the investigating officers found multiple knives with similar handles to the murder weapon and clothing matching what he was seen wearing in the surveillance footage.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Carson's murder robbed his community of his leadership.
“With today’s sentence, justice has been served – but that will not bring back Ryan Carson or all the benefits he would have brought to our communities if his life wasn’t cut short by this defendant,” Gonzalez said. “The tragic murder of this promising and passionate activist was beyond abhorrent and senseless, necessitating the lengthy prison term imposed in this case."
