Influencer Niky Sal faces assault and child endangerment charges after being stabbed during a failed “predator hunt” at a New York Tim Hortons.
The child police say was endangered during Niky Sal's attempted vigilante sting was a one-year-old visiting a Tim Hortons with their family. A confrontation inside the coffee shop rapidly escalated into a physical brawl, the influencer was stabbed, and investigators later reported finding no digital contact connecting him to either man he confronted.
Nicholas Attalla, the Pennsylvania content creator behind the Niky Sal channels, now faces criminal charges himself. He turned himself in to Jamestown police following the December 2025 incident in western New York.
Attalla is charged with third-degree assault, second-degree criminal nuisance, and endangering the welfare of a child. According to court records reviewed by PEOPLE, he entered a plea of not guilty.
Flawed Identification Led to Coffee Shop Brawl
Attalla's online content centers on posing as minors online to confront adults he accuses of attempting to exploit children. His public profiles characterize the operations as awareness campaigns targeting online predators.
For the Jamestown encounter, police reported that Attalla posed as a 14-year-old girl while messaging an account claiming to be a 16-year-old boy. The exchange culminated in an arranged meeting at the coffee shop, according to local reporting from WGRZ.
Upon arriving, Attalla confronted James Morris and Eric Spencer. Police stated that Attalla threatened Morris based solely on vocal recognition from a prior audio exchange. However, forensic searches of both men's phones revealed zero evidence of communication with Attalla, according to police records.
Investigators ultimately concluded that Attalla's claims failed to show either man sent the solicitations or sought to meet an underage person.
Bystanders Caught in Escalated Fight
Investigators allege that Morris stabbed Attalla during the altercation. Attalla was hospitalized following the encounter, with a medical fundraiser noting he underwent emergency surgery.
The brawl quickly swept up innocent bystanders. Police stated the combatants slammed into a family dining nearby with an infant, triggering child endangerment and criminal nuisance charges against all three participants.
Morris faces separate felony counts, including first-degree assault, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and tampering with physical evidence. He has also pleaded not guilty.
With all charges pending before the court, investigative findings indicate the confrontation spiraled into violence before Attalla verified his targets, endangering bystanders in the process.