Man sentenced for stray bullet shooting that killed father inside Crown Heights park
Gucci Morris will serve 15 years to life behind bars for killing Christopher Ross inside Crown Heights' Lincoln Terrace Park on Aug. 9, 2020. Ross was at the park to play handball with his friends when the shooting occurred.
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Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez says a Crown Heights man was sentenced for fatally shooting an innocent father with a bullet meant for someone else.
Gucci Morris, 21, will serve 15 years to life behind bars for killing Christopher Ross, 53, inside Crown Heights' Lincoln Terrace Park on Aug. 9, 2020. Ross was at the park to play handball with his friends around 5 p.m. when the shooting occurred.
Prosecutors say Morris and his group arrived at the park around the same time as Ross. Morris was dressed in dark clothing and carrying a loaded gun.
A brawl broke out between Morris' group and another group on a main walkway, steps from the playground and handball courts. During the fight, Morris pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots, one of which passed through a fence surrounding the courts and struck Ross in the head, according to investigators.
Ross died at the scene.
Prosecutors say Morris ran away and later changed his appearance to avoid authorities. He was arrested a year and a half later and was convicted of murder on Oct. 30, 2025.
"Christopher Ross was a father who went to a neighborhood park and never came home," said Gonzalez. "The defendant fired multiple shots in a space filled with families and children, killing a man who had nothing to do with the dispute, but was just trying to enjoy a summer afternoon. No family should have to endure that loss. My office will continue the steady work of keeping guns off Brooklyn streets and ensuring people can feel safe in our communities."
Loved ones gathered in the park in September 2020 to remember Ross, a father of four, while stressing a message for young people — stop the violence and put down the guns.
