Brooklyn man pleads guilty to unprovoked stabbing of liberal activist ryan carson

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A 20-year-old Brooklyn man has pleaded guilty to the 2023 unprovoked murder of Ryan Carson, a social justice activist, in a brutal attack caught on surveillance video, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Wednesday.

Brian Dowling, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a sentence of 20 years to life in prison. The plea was entered before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun, with sentencing scheduled for February 19, 2025.

The fatal stabbing occurred on October 2, 2023, at approximately 3:50 a.m. outside 57 Malcolm X Boulevard in Bedford-Stuyvesant. According to the investigation, Dowling, visibly agitated and kicking parked scooters, turned his anger toward Carson, who was walking nearby with his girlfriend.

Surveillance footage showed Dowling yelling at Carson, saying, “I’m going to kill you,” before swinging a knife. Carson attempted to deescalate the situation but was struck and fell over a bus stop bench. Dowling then ran up to Carson and stabbed him multiple times in the chest, fatally striking his heart, before fleeing the scene.

Dowling later turned himself in to authorities. A search of his apartment revealed knives matching the handle of the recovered murder weapon and clothing consistent with what he wore during the attack.

“Many of us still shudder when recalling the horrific video showing this defendant viciously attacking Ryan Carson,” said DA Gonzalez. “Such an unconscionable crime requires the separation of this defendant from our society for a very long time.”

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