Man convicted of fatal shooting in Long Island grocery store sentenced to 50 years to life in prison

NEW YORK — Fifty years to life in prison.

That’s the sentence handed down to the man convicted of the deadly shooting inside a Long Island grocery store in 2021 that wounded three workers, one of whom died.

Gabriel DeWitt Wilson was convicted in May of seven of nine counts, including one count of second-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting that took place on April 20, 2021 inside a West Hempstead Stop & Shop. The victim who died was Ray Wishropp, 49, a father of seven who worked as a manager at the store. Two other victims, a man and a woman, were injured.

The Wishropp family prepared for court, as Wilson was to be sentenced. The man who shot and killed his beloved son quickly learned his fate: 50 years to live.

After the sentencing, Wishropp’s family spoke briefly.

“My cousin died two years ago, he had to go through the trial, if he felt like he died the other day,” said Wishropp’s cousin, Alex Bernard.

Prosecutors say Wilson, who worked at the supermarket, was angry that his job transfer had not been granted. On the day of the shooting, he abruptly left the store and returned 40 minutes later with a gun, shooting Wishropp in the chest and wounding his two co-workers.

“He fired 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: “I didn’t mean to. 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 has argued in the past that her son’s disability should have played a role in his trial.

Wishropp leaves behind seven children, the eldest is 31 and the youngest is 8.

“And [Wilson] If I had changed my mind, I would have had my son and he would have had his freedom,” said Rupert Wishropp.