Bust in 2020 Brooklyn slaying of Indiana college student Ethan Williams brings no joy; family prays shooter will ‘begin to understand’

When the call came as he was behind the wheel of a car Thursday afternoon, Jason Williams — whose son, an Indiana college student, was gunned down in Brooklyn in 2020 — thought something was wrong.

“You might want to pull over,” said the Brooklyn prosecutor on the other end of the line.

Then came the news. Williams said the prosecutor told him: “We’ve arrested a man for the murder of your son. He has given us a full statement.”

It was news Williams had prayed for for nearly two years.

Ethan Williams, 20, was struck by a stray bullet Oct. 24, 2020, as he sat on the stoop of his Airbnb in Brooklyn with buddies from Indiana after a day of skateboarding and sightseeing.

His high-profile death led to the creation of a joint task force of the NYPD and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office. On Thursday, 740 days after the murder, that work led to the arrest of William Freeman, 26.

“I immediately called my wife and son, who is now a pre-med biology student at North Park University,” said Williams, an educator in Indianapolis.

“My wife started crying. My son was silent. He didn’t want to know his name. We just kind of stood on the phone together for a few minutes.”

Detectives had concluded during the long investigation that the gunman mistook Ethan and his friends for members of a rival gang and opened fire near Eldert St. and Bushwick Ave. in Bushwick.

One round struck Williams in the chest. He could not be saved.

“We have been praying every day not for vengeance, but that whoever killed my son would begin to understand and it would weigh on his conscience and he would admit what he did was wrong,” Williams said. “I don’t know that that is what happened here. But I don’t see any other reason why he would talk.”

Just a few days ago, on Oct. 24, the two-year anniversary of Ethan’s death, family and friends gathered at the cemetery where he is buried to remember him.

Police said Freeman had long been a person of interest in the case — but they that they didn’t have enough evidence to charge him.

The video evidence from the scene was blurry and witnesses were hard to come by. Investigators, however, were able to use facial recognition software to identify Freeman. Also, a Uber driver who drove Freeman from the scene recognized him in a photo array, authorities said.

After Freeman missed a court date for a Jan. 3 petty larceny charge, a bench warrant was issued for him. He was arrested by cops from the NYPD Public Safety Team.

During questioning by detectives on Thursday, he implicated himself in Ethan’s murder, police sources said. Freeman’s DNA was linked to the gun believed used in the murder, a law enforcement source said.

At arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Friday, a prosecutor said Freeman identified a photo of the gun used in the shooting, and a photo of the site from where he fired the gun.

Law enforcement sources said the killing was retaliation for the gang-related murder of Freeman’s cousin, Elijah Mims, who was gunned down Aug. 30, 2020, as he sat inside a Mercedes-Benz outside a block party on Madison St. in Bushwick.

A gang called TBO was believed involved in Mims’ murder. Freeman is a member of TBO’s rival, the Cash Money Brothers, cops said.

Freeman faces murder and weapons charges. Judge Leigh Cheng set his bail at $350,000 cash and $600,000 bond over the objection of Brooklyn assistant DA Jordan Rodman, who wanted Freeman jailed without bail.

Freeman, clad in a black hooded track suit, briefly turned to wave members of his family who were in the courtroom gallery.

“That’s my son,” Freeman’s father said after the hearing. “I love him. That’s it.” He declined to give his name.

Williams said Freeman’s arrest did not fill him with joy — more a sense of relief.

“It’s not an emotion I’ve felt before. Happy is not the word,” he said. “It’s a weight off knowing that a killer is off the streets, and it’s certainly better than the alternative. I have piece of mind knowing that he’s not on the streets.”

“The detectives and the prosecutors did the work, and I kept advocating. I would say to any other victims’ families out there, you have to continue to stay on it and engage.”

Williams credited law enforcement but also the Daily News and other outlets for keeping the story in the public eye.

“I’m very thankful to the people of New York and their work, and I hope a jury will do their work and this guy will pay for his crimes.”

In a statement, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said, “An innocent college student was killed visiting our city, and my office is committed to holding his alleged killer accountable for this horrific act of violence. Our thoughts continue to be with Ethan’s family and friends.”

The young man had a range of interests, including skateboarding and filmmaking. He was studying film at Indiana University.

There’s a skatepark named in his honor in his hometown of Indianapolis partially funded by Tony Hawk, and a library is being built at a school in Rwanda that his family has been active with.