On November 18, 2025, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that Wesley Walker, 19, of Fort Greene, was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison. Walker was convicted of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon for the shooting death of 15-year-old Unique Smith in Downtown Brooklyn. The incident happened on September 7, 2022, in McLaughlin Park near Tillary and Jay Streets. Smith was sitting on a bench after school when he was shot.
Trial evidence showed that Walker, identified as a member of the FNO Woo street gang, approached Smith with another masked person and asked about gang affiliation. After a short argument, Walker shot Smith in the stomach. Smith, a student at Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, was taken to Methodist Hospital and later died.
Earlier that day, Walker had skipped class and brought several students, including a lookout, to the park. He showed a gun and said he planned to use it. After the shooting, Walker left Brooklyn and was arrested in Binghamton, New York, on February 1, 2023…