Guy Who Killed Black Man With Sword Went to NYC to Kill: Cops

He turned himself in after one murder
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 22, 2017 10:57 PM CDT
Guy Who Killed Black Man With Sword Went to NYC to Kill: Cops
James Harris Jackson is escorted out of a police precinct in New York, Wednesday, March 22, 2017. Police said Jackson, accused of fatally stabbing a black man in New York City, told investigators he traveled from Baltimore specifically to attack black people.    (Seth Wenig)

A white US Army veteran from Baltimore bent on making a racist attack took a bus to New York, the "media capital of the world," randomly picked out a black man who was collecting bottles on the street, and killed him with a sword, police said Wednesday. James Harris Jackson turned himself in at a Times Square police station early Wednesday, about 25 hours after Timothy Caughman staggered into a police precinct bleeding to death. "I'm the person that you're looking for," Jackson told police, according to Assistant Chief William Aubrey. Jackson, who was arrested on suspicion of murder, told police he'd harbored feelings of hatred toward black men for at least 10 years, authorities said. He traveled to New York on March 17 and had been staying in a Manhattan hotel, the AP reports.

"The reason he picked New York is because it's the media capital of the world and he wanted to make a statement," Aubrey said. Jackson was wandering the streets in a long overcoat concealing a 26-inch sword when he encountered Caughman, who was collecting bottles from trash cans, police said. Jackson stabbed him repeatedly in his chest and back, they said. Caughman, who was 66 years old and lived nearby in a transitional house, was taken to a hospital by police shortly after he arrived to the station house. He died at the hospital. Investigators said they believed Jackson was considering other attacks but surrendered after noticing his photo in media reports. He had two knives and told investigators where they could find the sword, police said. The sword was retrieved from a trash can not far from the scene. (More murder stories.)

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