A 21-year-old Brooklyn man on Tuesday was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the fatal shooting of Christopher Ross, a 53-year-old father of two, who was struck by a bullet while enjoying a summer afternoon in Lincoln Terrace Park.
Gucci Morris, 21, of Crown Heights, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. The defendant was convicted of second-degree murder on October 30, 2025, following a jury trial, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
On August 9, 2020, at approximately 5:00pm, Morris traveled with a group of friends to Lincoln Terrace Park in Crown Heights, wearing dark clothing and carrying a loaded firearm. At the same time, Christopher Ross arrived at the park to play handball with friends, according to prosecutors.
As two groups engaged in a physical altercation along a main park walkway near a playground and handball courts, the defendant pulled out a gun and fired off multiple shots. One of the bullets passed through a fence surrounding the handball court and struck Ross in the left eyebrow, piercing his skull and brain. He was pronounced dead at the scene, prosecutors said.
The shooting caused panic throughout the park, which was crowded with adults and children. The defendant fled the scene with others, later altering his appearance to avoid arrest, according to Gonzalez.
Following an investigation that included eyewitness accounts, surveillance footage tracking the defendant before and after the shooting, digital evidence recovered from the defendant’s phones, and identifications by individuals familiar with him, Morris was arrested and charged on February 9, 2022, Gonzalez said.
“Christopher Ross was a father who went to a neighborhood park and never came home," Gonzalez said in a statement. "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."
