Ryan Carson Stabbing Video Shows Moment He Is Killed in Front of Girlfriend
Police have identified a suspect in the fatal stabbing of a New York social justice activist.
Ryan Carson, 32, was stabbed to death in Brooklyn on Monday as he and his girlfriend were standing near a bus stop. The killing was captured clearly on CCTV footage.
After stabbing Carson in the heart, the assailant kicked him as he lay on the ground, threatened Carson's girlfriend and spat in her face, Joseph Kenny, New York City chief of detectives, said at a press conference.
An 18-year-old male suspect is being sought in the stabbing, though his name has not been released. Police say the alleged killer was enrolled in a learn-to-work program at a school in the Clinton Hill neighborhood.
They are searching for him in the area and other locations, such as around Commodore Barry Park in Fort Greene.
Carson and his girlfriend, Claudia, were both dressed in formalwear after a wedding and were sitting at a bus stop in the Bedford Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn.
A young man walked by them and began kicking a line of parked mopeds or scooters on the street corner. Carson asked the man to stop and the man pulled a knife. Carson can be heard on the CCTV footage telling the man: "Chill, Chill." He also twice pushed the man back. The assailant then stabbed him and kicked him as he lay on the ground, before turning on Carson's girlfriend and spitting in her face.
A woman who knew the assailant ran forward to apologize and identified the stabber as "Brian". Carson's girlfriend can be seen pointing down the street and telling the woman to follow the attacker.
The as-yet unidentified suspect is said to have had prior summonses for disorderly conduct in 2022.
Authorities say two months ago he broke his girlfriend's belongings during a fight in her apartment. His aunt called 911 at the time.
Police now have very clear surveillance video of the murder from a deli located near the crime scene. Police are investigating if there was a racial element to the attack.
Carson was a prominent activist who campaigned to end drug overdoses and for the environment.
For the last decade, he worked as a campaign manager with the New York Public Interest Research Group, most recently focusing on recycling. He had recorded a video about the opioid crisis and lobbied for safe injection sites by walking from New York City to Albany in 2021. He raised more than $20,000 for the campaign through a GoFundMe campaign.
"I was absolutely in disbelief," New York Assembly member Emily Gallagher told CBS New York. She said that Carson had recently been sending out reminders for his upcoming birthday, and she said he was someone she could turn to for support.
"If you wanted to talk, he was absolutely always ready to talk, always there for you," Gallagher said. Holding back tears, she added: "It's hard when the person that you go to to talk about grief is the one who died."
"It's incredibly tragic," Blair Horner, Carson's boss at the New York Public Interest Research Group, told ABC 7 NY. "A life full of promise is snuffed out—and the world is a worse place for it and we'll miss him dearly."
On Monday night, more than 100 people gathered for a candlelight vigil at the Herbert Von King Park across the street from Carson's home in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
"I'm horrified to learn of the brutal murder of advocate Ryan Carson in Brooklyn today," New York City Council member Chi Ossé posted on X, formerly Twitter. "This tireless defender of his neighbors was stolen from us. Committed to ending this senseless violence, my heart is with his family."
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