Suspect in Race-Targeted Killing is Army Veteran

A man accused of a racially motivated killing in New York City is an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan.

The Army says James Harris Jackson was in the service from March 2009 to August 2012 and worked as a military intelligence analyst. The 28-year-old specialist was deployed to Afghanistan from December 2010 to November 2011 and earned several medals.

The circumstances of his discharge aren’t clear. The Army cites privacy laws that prevent releasing such details.

Jackson has been arrested on a murder charge in the stabbing of 66-year-old Timothy Caughman.

Caughman is black. Jackson is white, and police say he told investigators he traveled to New York from Baltimore to attack blacks.

It’s not immediately clear whether Jackson has an attorney who can comment on the charges.

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