Timothy Caughman was a can and bottle collector in New York City. According to his active Twitter profile, he was also an autograph collector, and frequently posted images of himself with famous people he met on the streets of New York. He described himself as a "good businessman" who had dreams of visiting California one day. According to the New York Times, he lived in a homeless center on West 36th St.
He was stabbed to death this week.
The Baltimore Sun reported that Caughman was stabbed repeatedly with a sword while he was rummaging through the trash, collecting bottles to recycle. He walked into a police precinct and was promptly taken to a hospital, where he died.
The suspect, James Harris Jackson, told police he traveled to New York with the intent to attack black men, according to the New York Times. The Times quoted Assistant Chief William Aubry describing Jackson as having "harbored a hatred of black men for more than a decade." Officials have expressed desire to classify the charge to a hate crime.
Bias attacks in New York City have more than doubled this year, according to the Baltimore Sun.
The U.S. has seen a surge in hate crimes in recent months, especially in the month following the election. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported 221 anti-black hate crimes alone, among a total of 1,094 hate crimes total.
While the rate of hate crimes has since declined from the post-election mark, there are a reported 917 hate groups in the U.S. These include groups that are anti-black, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, and more.
Jackson turned himself in to the police on Wednesday.
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