A student was killed by a stray bullet while enjoying his “dream trip” to the Big Apple.
20-year-old Ethan Williams was an Indiana college student who left Indianapolis to make his dreams of visiting New York City come true.
While outside the Airbnb place he and his friends rented in Brooklyn, Williams was shot and killed by a stray bullet that struck him in the chest.
According to the police, the student attempted to run inside for cover when the gunfire erupted in the Bushwick area at around 2:30 in the morning. Before he could make it to safety, however, the 20-year-old was shot in the chest at least once.
After the tragic incident, Williams was rushed to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.
“Ethan would have wanted the shooter to know he’s already forgiven them. He would have wanted to be his friend,” the student’s father, Jason Williams, said in an interview with the New York Post. “It’s hard to express how much he loved everybody. He did not know a stranger.”
As the victim’s family explained, Ethan was a loving person who set up an LGBTQ group in order to support bullied students at his school even though he was not gay.
He allegedly also participated in missionary work in Rwanda back when he was still in high school.
“If he had the opportunity to say something to the shooter, we know that he would invite him for a cup of coffee and ask to hear their story,” the family wrote in a statement following Ethan’s death.
“He would forgive without delay. Ethan always saw beyond the surface and took the time to help others feel seen, important and loved.”
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