Online predator-hunter influencer charged after being stabbed in New York coffee shop brawl

Pennsylvania influencer Nicholas Attalla, known online as “Niky Sal,” runs undercover accounts that pose as children to identify potential predators. In December 2025 he arranged a meeting at a Tim Hortons in Jamestown, New York, after chatting with someone he believed was a 16-year-old male, while he presented himself as a 14-year-old girl. When he confronted James Morris and Eric Spencer, a fight broke out and Morris stabbed Attalla, causing a large arm laceration that required treatment at UPMC Chautauqua.

The melee also endangered a one-year-old child present in the café. Police later arrested Morris and Spencer in January 2026 and, on September 4, charged all three men with second-degree criminal nuisance and endangering a child’s welfare; Morris additionally faces first-degree assault, tampering with evidence, and third-degree weapon possession. A GoFundMe for Attalla’s medical costs raised over $12,000.