FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison
For Shooting Death of Ethan Williams
Victim was in New York City for Skateboard Tournament When he was Shot Dead in Bushwick
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for shooting an Indiana man who was sitting on a stoop in Bushwick, Brooklyn, killing him. The defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter earlier this year.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Ethan Willaims was a bright, compassionate college student visiting our city to do what he loved when his life was stolen in an act of horrific, unprovoked gun violence. Today’s sentence holds the defendant responsible for this truly senseless killing, and my thoughts are with Ethan’s family and friends as they continue to mourn this devastating loss.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as William Freeman, 30, of Gravesend, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Deepa Ambekar to 18 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision. The defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter on March 10, 2026
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, the victim, Ethan Williams, 20, an Indiana University student on his first visit to New York City, was sitting on a stoop at 42 Eldert Street, in Bushwick, with several friends with whom he was renting an AirBnB, on October 24, 2020, at approximately 2:30 a.m., when the defendant opened fire on the group. Ethan was struck in the chest and died of his wounds.
The defendant then fled the scene, according to the evidence. The defendant was arrested on November 3, 2022, in the vicinity of 480 Knickerbocker Avenue, in Bushwick, after a car in which he was a passenger was stopped by police. The defendant made statements admitting, in essence, that he shot at the victim’s group because he mistakenly thought someone in the group was responsible for his cousin’s death a few weeks prior.
The case was investigated by New York City Police Detective Robert Romano of the 83rd Precinct and NYPD Detective Sonia Yi of Brooklyn North Homicide.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Chief of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, and Senior Assistant District Attorney Matthew Perry, also of the Homicide Bureau.
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