Baltimore Man Who Says He Went To NYC To Kill Black People Charged With Murder As Act Of Terrorism

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Chilling words from the man accused of traveling by bus from Hampden to New York City with the intent of murdering African Americans were published this weekend in the New York Daily News.

Police say 28-year-old James Jackson slayed an innocent black man before turning himself into authorities last week. WJZ's Rick Ritter has more on Jackson, who told the paper in an exclusive interview what's behind the gruesome crime.

The only way to describe the quotes is 'chilling.'

Jackson tells the Daily News he intended for the killing to be a practice run. He wanted to make a statement, and intended to shed more blood.

After his first court appearance, Jackson had little to say. But now, in a tell-all exclusive with the New York Daily News, the Army veteran sheds light on the heinous crime.

"He has been harboring these feelings of hate towards male blacks," police said in a press conference last week.

Jackson allegedly used a sword to stab a complete stranger, 66-year-old Timothy Caughman. The tells the Daily News he had a sick regret for the victim he chose, saying "I didn't know he was elderly."

He says he would've rather killed "a young thug" or "a successful older black man," "these younger guys that put white girls on the wrong path."

Jackson graduated from the Friends School of Baltimore in 2007, a school that preaches love and peace, but the message apparently never sank in with him.

"I guess it's like anything — if something gets pushed on you too much, you reject it."

Jackson hoped the bloodshed would force white women to think hard about interracial relationships.

"'Well, if that guy feels so strongly about it, maybe I shouldn't do it,'" he said.

Jackson says his military training helped him plan to kill black men, and he intended to kill many more.

"I had been thinking about it for a long time, for the past couple of years. I figured I would end up getting shot by police, kill myself, or end up in jail."

The white supremacist turned himself into police, and is now being charged with murder as an act of terrorism. He was officially indicted Monday, and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office released the following statement on Jackson:

"James Jackson 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," said District Attorney Vance. "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 color, and stabbing him repeatedly and publicly on a Midtown street corner. James Jackson wanted to kill black men, planned to kill black men, and then did kill a black man. He chose Midtown as his crime scene because Manhattan is the media capital of the world, and a place where people of different races live together and love one another. We must never take for granted New York's remarkable diversity. We must celebrate it, protect it, and refuse to let violence and hate undermine the progress we have made as a city, a state, and a nation."

Jackson told the paper he's received about 50 death threats while at the Manhattan Detention Complex.

As for why he turned himself in, he told the paper, "I got depressed.. and didn't want to put my family through any more pain."

His family released a statement saying, "We are shocked, horrified, and heartbroken by this tragedy. We extend our prayers and condolences to the family of Timothy Caughman."

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