Child predator-catching influencer charged after being stabbed during confrontation at NY Tim Hortons

A Pennsylvania influencer has been charged after being stabbed during a confrontation with two men he accused of being child predators in upstate New York last year.

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Nicholas Attalla, 34, who operates under the online moniker “Niky Sal,” was arrested on charges of third-degree assault, criminal nuisance and endangering the welfare of a child on Sept. 4, WGRZ reported.

Attalla runs undercover social media accounts, where he poses as a minor in an effort to identify adults who prey on children.

He is accused of getting into a fight with James Morris, 43, and Eric Spencer, 42, inside a Tim Hortons in Jamestown — about 70 miles south of Buffalo — in December 2025.

Investigators revealed that Attalla, of Erie, Pa., had allegedly chatted online with an individual who claimed to be a 16-year-old male through a dating site, the outlet reported.

Attalla portrayed himself as a 14-year-old girl during those communications and arranged to meet at the Tim Hortons, where he accused Spencer of talking with the minor.

A spokesperson for the Jamestown Police Department told WGRZ that Attalla “threatened him (Morris) based solely off the phone conversation and his voice.”

At the Tim Hortons, Attalla confronted Morris and Spencer before the fight broke out.

Morris allegedly stabbed Attalla during the melee, police said.

The brawl also eventually engulfed a 1-year-old child and their family who were inside the coffee shop.

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Attalla suffered a large laceration to his arm and was treated at UPMC Chautauqua.

A GoFundMe was launched to cover Attalla’s medical treatment following the stabbing — raising more than $12,000 of its $20,000 goal as of Thursday.

Following the fight, Morris and Spencer were arrested in January 2026.

Morris was charged with assault in the first degree, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree.

An investigation led by the Jamestown Police Department later revealed that none of the men had been communicating before the fight.

Investigators also said search warrants executed on the suspects’ cell phones found no evidence of any phone contact between Attalla, Morris or Spencer before the confrontation, Erie Now News reported.

On Sept. 4, all three men — Morris, Spencer and Attalla — were charged with second-degree criminal nuisance and endangering the welfare of a child.

The child endangerment charge stemmed from the men colliding with the 1-year-old during the chaos of the brawl.

Attalla has a following of about 47,000 on Facebook, where he says his page is “for educational purposes and to help spread awareness of online child predators.”

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