The Brooklyn teenager accused of fatally stabbing a beloved local activist through the heart was remanded without bail Thursday night at an emotional arraignment where prosecutors laid out their evidence against the alleged killer.
Brian Dowling, 18, glanced back at his parents — who wept and shook with emotion — during his initial hearing at Brooklyn Criminal Court in a murder case that has gripped the city’s attention.
The teen is accused of killing Ryan Carson in front of his girlfriend at a Brooklyn bus stop early Monday morning — days before the victim’s 32nd birthday.
Dowling allegedly turned and stabbed Carson “without provocation,” Prosecutor Jordan Rossman said at the arraignment.
Two witnesses positively identified Dowling as Carson’s killer from a photo line-up and said he was the person seen stabbing the activist in a video of the senseless attack, the prosecutors said.
Investigators also recovered clothing that matched what the suspect in the video had been wearing from Dowling’s home, as well as a knife — though it’s unclear if the knife was the one used to stab Carson, Rossman said.
Carson, a longtime campaign organizer for the New York Public Interest Research Group, was heading home with his girlfriend after they attended a wedding on Long Island when he was knifed.
The couple was waiting at a B38 bus stop in Bedford-Stuyvesant just before 4 a.m. when Dowling allegedly came after Carson at random.
The teen could be seen knocking over a row of mopeds parked on the sidewalk in front of the pair before turning to them and shouting “What the f–k are you looking at?” according to footage obtained by The Post.
The assailant then walks toward Carson and his girlfriend — screaming “I’ll kill you!” the clip shows.
He lunges towards Carson, who steps back and trips over a bench at the bus stop. He then pulls a knife and allegedly stabs him three times, according to the video and cops.
Dowling has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Despite the violent and senseless crime, the teen’s defense attorney said his client had never been arrested before.
“This is a difficult case for several reasons beyond the tragedy of the loss of life,” Kenneth Montgomery told the judge. “You have an 18-year-old man — young man who has no criminal history.”
A friend of the family said that the teenager’s “mental state” should be looked at by investigators in an interview with The Post earlier in the day.
Montgomery said Dowling comes from a good family and asked for “serious bail,” arguing that he shows zero risk of leaving town.
“His parents are here and I assure you that there’s no risk of flight, he was arrested at his home,” the lawyer said.
Judge Joshua Glick ultimately remanded Dowling “given the nature of the charges and the narrative given by the people.”
The alleged killer looked teary-eyed as he learned his fate and glanced back to his parents who waved from the courtroom benches where they were seated.
Dowling is due back in court on Oct. 11. His family members left the courtroom without speaking to reporters.
