NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on the killing of a black man who was repeatedly stabbed with a sword (all times local):
5:30 p.m.
Relatives of a white Army veteran accused of killing a black stranger in a racial attack say they’re “shocked, horrified and heartbroken.”
James Harris Jackson’s family issued a statement Thursday through a lawyer. The relatives also extend prayers and condolences to the family of the victim, Timothy Caughman.
The 28-year-old Jackson was arraigned Thursday on a hate crime murder charge in New York City.
Authorities say he came to Manhattan from Baltimore with the aim of killing black men, knowing it would garner news coverage in the media capital of the world. Investigators say he came across the 66-year-old Caughman on a street Monday and stabbed him to death.
Jackson’s lawyer, Sam Talkin, says that if the facts of the case match the allegations, he’ll need to address what he calls “obvious psychological issues.”
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2:50 p.m.
The lawyer for a white Army veteran accused of murder as a hate crime says if the facts of the case match the allegations, he will need to address “obvious psychological issues.”
James Harris Jackson was charged Thursday in Manhattan with murder as a hate crime. He is being held without bail and did not enter a plea. Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi said it’s possible the charges could be upgraded because the killing was an act “most likely of terrorism.”
She says Jackson came to New York City bent on killing as many black men as possible, but he surrendered before killing anyone else.
Jackson’s attorney Sam Talkin says he needs to let the dust settle and investigate. Jackson said nothing in court.
2:40 p.m.
A white Army veteran accused of randomly choosing and killing a black man in a racial attack has been charged in New York City with murder as a hate crime.
James Harris Jackson was arraigned on a charge of murder Thursday in a Manhattan criminal court.
Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi said he traveled from his home in Baltimore to New York last week to kill black men and “make a statement.”
She says he ran into 66-year-old Timothy Caughman, who was collecting bottles, and stabbed him to death in cold blood.
She says that the attack was motivated by hate and that he is angered in particular by black men who date white women.
Jackson was held and didn’t enter a plea. The next court date is March 27.
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12:55 a.m.
New York City officials are calling the death of a black man who they say was repeatedly stabbed with a sword by a white U.S. Army veteran from Baltimore, “an assault” on the city’s inclusiveness and diversity.
Police say 28-year-old James Harris Jackson took a bus to New York to target black men when he encountered Timothy Caughman, who was collecting bottles from trash cans, and killed him.
Jackson turned himself in at a Times Square police station early Wednesday, about 25 hours after the Caughman staggered into a police precinct bleeding to death.
Jackson has been arrested on suspicion of murder. It’s unclear if he has an attorney who can comment on the case.
Police say the reason he picked New York is because it’s “the media capital of the world.”
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