Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: Brooklyn High School For Leadership and Community Service teacher Paul Joseph, who taught Brian Dowling, 18, in his senior English documentary film class, described him as "respectful" and "like any high school student," while speaking with the New York Post.
Downing, who recently graduated from high school, has been arrested and accused of fatally stabbing 32-year-old social justice activist Ryan Carson on Monday, October 2.
Joseph recalled shaking Dowling’s hand at graduation, saying, "He was a respectful young man. So I don’t know what happened."
According to the police, the teenager was arrested when they found a knife believed to be the alleged murder weapon and a sweatshirt matching the one the attacker wore at his home.
As per sources, Dowling faces a second-degree murder charge and has been denied bail.
Surveillance footage shows the scuffle between Brian Dowling and Ryan Carson
Sources previously identified a "mentally disturbed" teen as a main person of interest in the brutal murder of Ryan Carson, who was returning home from a wedding with his girlfriend when the attack happened.
The assailant seemed to target him at random, forcing the community advocate to stand between his girlfriend and the menacing stranger.
In the surveillance footage, the attacker was heard yelling, "I’ll kill you!" before the scuffle began. Carson was seen tumbling over the bus stop bench when the attacker pulled out a knife and stabbed him thrice.
An unidentified woman then appeared in the corner of the frame and seemingly begged the assailant to stop, while repeating what sounded like "Brian."
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said that by Wednesday, police had identified the suspect but were waiting for "probable cause to make this arrest."
The suspect may have been fighting with a woman, who has been identified as his twin sister, Brianna, shortly before he was seen on camera kicking over and damaging mopeds and scooters that were parked on the sidewalk. He then turned on Carson, saying, "What the f**k are you looking at?"
As per sources, Brian Dowling works at a high school in Clinton Hill and was known to frequent the area of Commodore Barry Park in Fort Greene.
Information about Brian Dowling's possible juvenile records is unclear
In most possibilities, any record of the teen would have been sealed. Brian Dowling, however, had three summons in 2022, including two for disorderly conduct.
He had also been a victim of robbery in 2021.
Dowling was cited in a police report from July where his aunt claimed he smashed objects in his girlfriend’s apartment after a fight and described him in a 911 call as "mentally disturbed."
Eric Riddick, a close friend of the accused's father, reportedly said that he always knew the teen as a good kid, with no previous indications that would explain what he has been accused of.
"I mean there were really no issues — where you can go back and check if there were any kind of problems with him in the past," said Riddick.
