Child Predator-Catching Influencer Charged After Being Stabbed During Tim Hortons Sting

Nicholas Attalla, the predator-catching influencer known as Niky Sal, faces charges over a fight in which someone stabbed him. Police say the fight started after Attalla accused a stranger at a Tim Hortons of planning to meet a teenage girl. Phone records showed no contact between Attalla and the other man. A family with a 1-year-old child also got caught in the brawl.

Predator catchers like Attalla carry out online stings similar to those featured in the former TV show To Catch a Predator. A decoy account poses online as a child and waits for an adult to suggest a meeting. The catcher then goes to the meeting with a camera. In an interview with Buffalo station WIVB-TV last December, Attalla said, 'we never send the first message.'

Police say Attalla used a dating site while posing as a 14-year-old girl. He then communicated with another user who claimed to be a 16-year-old boy, and the two arranged to meet at a Tim Hortons in Jamestown, New York, on 13 December 2025. Inside the restaurant, Attalla approached James Morris and Eric Spencer. Police say Attalla accused Morris of planning to meet a child and threatened him based on their phone conversation and Morris's voice.

What the Phone Records Showed

Detectives spent months interviewing witnesses, reviewing video footage and obtaining phone records through court orders. The records showed that Attalla had no phone contact with either man. Police still do not know who created or controlled the teenage profile.

Police say Attalla made the accusation in front of other customers, which led to a fight. Morris allegedly stabbed Attalla during the fight, leaving a large cut on Attalla's arm. Officers arrested Morris nearby. Staff at UPMC treated Attalla before transferring him to UPMC Hamot in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he lives.

Authorities first charged Morris in December with first-degree assault, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and tampering with physical evidence. In January 2026, police charged Spencer and added second-degree criminal nuisance. Authorities later added a charge of endangering the welfare of a child. Morris and Spencer now face the same charges.

What Niky Sal Is Charged With

Attalla surrendered to police in Jamestown on 4 September. He faces three charges: third-degree assault, endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree criminal nuisance. Police announced charges against all three men on 9 September.

Attalla and Morris have both pleaded not guilty, according to reports. New York law classifies all three charges against Attalla as misdemeanours. Morris also faces the more serious felony charge of first-degree assault.

After the stabbing, Attalla said online that his left arm had gone numb. A GoFundMe campaign for his medical care had raised more than $12,000 by 10 September. Fellow catcher Ethan Haskins told Buffalo station WKBW on 11 September that the team believed the man with the knife had targeted them. Haskins said the attack showed 'how dangerous these people online can actually be.'

Why Some Catchers Now Avoid Live Confrontations

814 Pred Hunters, a Pennsylvania-based group that runs online stings, told its followers in December that it had stopped confronting targets on camera. The group now focuses only on helping police make arrests.

Its members said the Jamestown attack showed how dangerous this type of work can become. Major Adam Flowers of the Canadian County Sheriff's Office in Oklahoma told Oklahoma Watch in 2025 that live confrontations can quickly turn violent.

Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson in Michigan gave a similar warning in May 2026. He said evidence collected outside normal police procedures could weaken or even ruin a court case. Swanson urged people to send tips directly to the police.

Police have not identified the person who controlled the profile claiming to belong to a 16-year-old boy. None of the three men faces a charge for contacting a child online. Instead, police charged all three men with offences linked to the fight, which also put a 1-year-old child and other customers at risk. The three men still face those charges, and no court has convicted any of them.