US veteran charged with terrorism for killing black man

Police say James Jackson 'prowled the streets of New York for three

days in search of a black person to assassinate'.



Police say Jackson admitted stabbing Timothy Caughman multiple times



A white US army veteran accused of

fatally stabbing a 66-year-old black

man has been charged with murder

as an act of terrorism after telling

police he was planning a race-based

killing spree.



James Jackson, 28, "prowled the

streets of New York for three days in

search of a black person to

assassinate in order to launch a

campaign of terrorism against our

Manhattan community and the

values we celebrate," Manhattan

District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in

a statement on Monday.



"Last week, with total presence of

mind, he acted on his plan, randomly

selecting a beloved New Yorker

solely on the basis of his skin colour,

and stabbing him repeatedly and

publicly on a Midtown street

corner."



He was formally charged in New

York State Supreme Court with one

count each of murder in the first and

second degrees as an act of

terrorism, murder in the second

degree as a hate crime, as well as

three counts of criminal possession

of a weapon.



Jackson's lawyer has said there are

"obvious psychological issues"

involved.



Police say Jackson admitted stabbing

Timothy Caughman, who was

collecting bottles for

recycling, multiple times on March

20. Caughman managed to walk two

blocks to a police station but died in

hospital.



Jackson - who served in the US Army

from 2009 to 2012, a stint that

included a tour of duty in

Afghanistan - turned himself in to

police in Times Square on

Wednesday after police released

surveillance video of the stabbing.



He told police he considered the

killing to be "practice prior to going

to Times Square to kill additional

black men," according to the

complaint.



It said he was "angered by black

men mixing with white women".



The case comes as several major US

cities including New York grapple

with an increase in hate crimes.



On Wednesday, Vance's office

launched a "Too New York To Hate"

campaign to encourage victims and

witnesses of violence against an

ethnic group, community or religion

to come forward to testify.







Source: News agencies