Fifty years to life in prison.
That's the sentence handed down to the man convicted in the deadly shooting inside a Long Island grocery store in 2021 that wounded three workers, one of which died.
Gabriel DeWitt Wilson was found guilty in May on seven of nine counts, including a second-degree murder charge in connection to the deadly shooting that took place on April 20, 2021 inside a West Hempstead Stop & Shop. The victim who died was 49-year-old Ray Wishropp, a father of seven who worked as a manager at the store. Two other victims, a man and a woman, were wounded.
The Wishropp family braced themselves for court, as Wilson was to be sentenced. The man who shot and killed their beloved son quickly learned his fate: 50 years to life.
Following the sentencing, Wishropp's family spoke briefly.
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"My cousin died two years ago, having to go through the trial, if felt like he died the other day," Wishropp's cousin, Alex Bernard, said.
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Rupert Wishropp "Justice. We get justice today."
Prosecutors say Wilson, who worked at the supermarket, was angry that his work transfer had not been granted. On the day of the shooting, he left the store abruptly and returned 40 minutes later with a gun, shooting Wishropp in the chest and injuring his two co-workers.
"He fired it seven times. The carnage only stopped because he ran out of bullets," Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.
At his sentencing, Wilson spoke, saying in part, "It wasn't my intention. I accept the punishment."
His defense attorney, who tried to argue for a more lenient sentence because Wilson was shot in the head when he was 19 and suffered a traumatic brain injury, said his client had planned to apologize to the family on Thursday.
Wilson's mother did not speak to reporters, but in the past has argued that her son's disability should have played a part in his trial.
Wishropp leaves behind seven children, the oldest 31 years old and the youngest 8.
"If [Wilson] had changed his mind, I would have had my son and he would have had his freedom," Rupert Wishropp said.
