A suspect has been taken into custody in connection to the fatal stabbing of leftist activist Ryan Carson in New York City.
Carson, 31, died after being stabbed in the chest multiple times in front of his girlfriend early Monday morning.
Brian Dowling, 18, was taken into custody at approximately 11 a.m. on Thursday morning.
ABC News reports, “Detectives were searching Dowling’s home, located less than a block from the deadly assault, when he showed up, according to police sources. They recovered the sweatshirt he appears to have been wearing in the surveillance images from the scene of the stabbing along with a knife that will now be tested to see if it matches the murder weapon, sources said.”
Dowling is currently being held at the NYPD’s 81st Precinct and is scheduled to appear in court later in the day.
Carson and his girlfriend were waiting at a bus stop at 4 a.m. when they appeared to confront a man who was knocking over scooters nearby.
A video of the stabbing was obtained by the New York Post.
Warning, graphic content:
GRAPHIC WARNING: NY Post obtains and releases video showing fatal stabbing of Leftist activist Ryan Carson in front of girlfriend on NYC street late-night after wedding
1. Always carry a gun
2. Always keep distance between yourself and a potential threat
Such a senseless… pic.twitter.com/tpNyaJk2Ke
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) October 3, 2023
The killer spit on Carson’s girlfriend before kicking his body and walking away.
Carson was transported to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
New York Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, who knew Carson prior to becoming a politician, said she was “in absolute disbelief” when she heard the news. They had met and become friends after both losing people they cared about to drug overdoses.
“I am devastated to share that my dear friend Ryan Carson, who worked for NYPIRG and created the advocacy organization ‘No OD NY’, was murdered last night,” Gallagher posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “I met Ryan many years ago through the DIY punk scene and he has been a trusted friend in Albany and at home. I miss him.”
I am devastated to share that my dear friend Ryan Carson, who worked for NYPIRG and created the advocacy organization “No OD NY”, was murdered last night. I met Ryan many years ago through the DIY punk scene and he has been a trusted friend in Albany and at home. I miss him. pic.twitter.com/jPmwWhBL4F
— Emily Gallagher (@EmilyAssembly) October 2, 2023
Acadia Cutschall, 32, told the New York Post that he was her “best friend” and once talked another man out of mugging him by giving him money.
“I was present once when he literally talked a guy out of mugging him,” Cutschall said. “He gave him some money.”
“It’s a horrific, brutal murder of someone who worked piously to help make this city a better place,” Tom Krantz, 31, Carson’s roommate, told the Post.
The victim has been a campaign manager for New York Public Interest Research Group for the last ten years, with a focus on recycling.
