Father of NYC shooting victim urges officials to crack down on crime
Jason Williams speaks out on the family’s ‘pain and suffering’ in the year following Ethan Williams’ murder in New York City.
Ethan Williams was shot and killed during a trip to New York City last October and his father Jason Williams spoke up on "America Reports" and corrected what had been falsely reported about the nature of his death.
Williams explained that the tragedy has been told by other news publications as a stray bullet striking his son dead. But the Indiana father clarified that the exchange was intentional, as the 20-year-old was shot down while sitting with his friends on the front porch of their Airbnb in Brooklyn.
"He was ambushed," he said. "A gunman walked up to them and fired six bullets towards them. The boys ran into the house, checked each other, made sure they were ok and someone said, ‘Where’s Ethan?’ And Ethan never got off of the step."
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The father expressed his understanding that politics are involved in the incident but, he pressed, the fact that his son was not killed in a random accident must be known.
"At the end of the day, my son was ambushed and murdered," he said. "And it could’ve been way worse. It could’ve been his friends as well."
In a New York Post op-ed, Williams urged newly-elected mayor Eric Adams to put his campaign promises into action by supporting law enforcement and tackling New York City’s crime problem head on.
"When someone chooses to commit a violent act against an innocent person going about their daily business, whether they’re tourists or just a regular New Yorker, the city needs to crack down," he said. "Eric Adams has said he is not interested in defunding the police and that he wants to keep lives safe and we’re very pleased to hear that."
NYPD officers wear masks in Times Square. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
Williams stressed that the public deserves the truth that there is a method to stopping crime including detaining violent criminals instead of allowing early bail.
Ethan Williams’ case is still an open investigation, as well as an ongoing nightmare for his family every day, his father said.
"My wife and I were high school sweethearts and all we ever wanted to be were parents," he said. "Ethan was a fantastic kid… He was troubled by poverty and violence and homelessness and he wanted to help people."
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"To lose someone like him, who would’ve been an advocate for people, it’s devastating."
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