Dad of tourist killed in New York City rips Hochul as 'out of touch to suffering of families like mine'
The father of a 20-year-old Indiana tourist shot and killed in New York City ripped New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul as "tone-deaf to the suffering of families like mine," according to a report.
Ethan Williams, a sophomore who was studying film media at Indiana University, was reportedly on a "dream trip" to New York City when he was shot in the chest while sitting on the stoop of an Airbnb with friends in Bushwick, Brooklyn, at about 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2020.
An arrest was not made until last week, when 26-year-old William Freeman was taken into custody.
Freeman allegedly told investigators that he mistook one of Williams’ friends for a rival gang member who had killed his cousin when he opened fire toward the group more than two years ago.
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Ethan Williams, 20, pictured with his father, Jason Williams, on graduation day. (Williams' family/ Go Fund Me)
To the objection of prosecutors, Freeman, who has nine prior arrests, was granted $350,000 bail by Brooklyn Criminal Court judge Leigh Cheng, according to the New York Post.
Williams’ father, Jason Williams, blasted the decision, as well as Hochul, during an interview with the outlet.
The elder Williams referred to an exchange between Hochul and Republican candidate for governor, Rep. Lee Zeldin, during their first and only debate in October. Halfway through the debate, Zeldin lamented that Hochul, "still hasn’t talked about locking up anyone who commits any crimes."
Hochul responded, "anyone who commits a crime under our laws, especially with the change they made to bail, has consequences. I don’t know why that’s so important to you."
"To hear one candidate say to another, ‘I’m not sure why that’s so important to you’ in regards to crime surges in New York is tone-deaf to the suffering of families like mine," Jason Williams told The Post. "Tone-deaf toward women, such as the jogger raped in Manhattan just last week. And tone-deaf towards surges of violence against Asian Americans."