A Pennsylvania social media influencer known for confronting suspected child predators is now facing charges after a volatile encounter at a Tim Hortons ended with him being stabbed in the arm.
Nicholas Attalla, 34, who goes by Niky Sal online, was charged last week with criminal nuisance and endangering the welfare of a child, according to WGRZ News.
Attalla has built an online following by posing as a minor through undercover social media accounts, using the personas to arrange meetings with alleged pedophiles and film the confrontations — an approach often compared to Chris Hansen’s NBC series To Catch a Predator.
The charges are tied to a physical altercation that broke out last year after Attalla confronted a man he believed was attempting to meet a minor at a Tim Hortons in upstate New York.
According to the outlet, the incident began when Attalla, posing online as a 14-year-old girl, started communicating on a dating website with an unidentified person who claimed to be a 16-year-old boy.
After arranging to meet at a Tim Hortons in Jamestown, Attalla crossed state lines on the afternoon of December 15, 2025, to ‘expose’ the man as a pedophile.
There, Attalla confronted two men, James Morris, 43, and Eric Spencer, 42, and accused Morris of talking to a minor.
The Jamestown Police Department said that Attalla ‘threatened Morris based solely off the phone conversation and his voice,’ according to WGRZ.
Nicholas Attalla, a Pennsylvania influencer known for hunting down alleged child predators, was charged after he was stabbed in the arm during a tense confrontation last year
His charges stem from a physical fight that erupted after he confronted a man allegedly trying to meet up with a minor inside an upstate New York Tim Hortons
It came after Attalla, posing as a 14-year-old girl, began chatting on a dating website with an unknown person who claimed to be a 16-year-old boy
Attalla confronted two men, James Morris (pictured), 43, and Eric Spencer, 42, and accused Morris of talking to a minor
Before leaving the establishment, Morris stabbed Attalla in the arm, leaving him with a large laceration, police said (fight pictured)
A physical fight broke out between the three men, during which they allegedly crashed into a family and their one-year-old child.
Before leaving the establishment, Morris stabbed Attalla in the arm, leaving him with a large laceration, police said in a Facebook statement.
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Attalla was taken to UPMC Chautauqua for treatment before later being transferred to a hospital in his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania.
In a photo shared on social media, the influencer is seen lying in a hospital bed flashing his bloodied hand at the camera. One arm appears to be wrapped in a cast-like covering.
Police said Morris was found just a short distance from the Tim Hortons and arrested without incident.
Morris was charged with first degree assault, tampering with physical evidence and third degree criminal possession of a weapon. Following his arraignment, he was remanded to the Chautauqua County Jail.
But a subsequent investigation by the department found that none of the men had been communicating before the fight, according to Erie News Now.
Search warrants for the three men’s cellphones found no contact between them before the confrontation, which police said put numerous patrons in danger, including a toddler caught in the chaos.
In a photo shared on social media, the influencer is seen lying in a hospital bed hooked up to wires and flashing his bloodied hand at the camera
A subsequent investigation by the department found that none of the men had been communicating before the fight (pictured), according to Erie News Now
During the fight between the three men, they allegedly crashed into a family and their one-year-old child
Attalla, 34, who uses the name Niky Sal online, was hit with charges of criminal nuisance and endangering the welfare
On September 4, following a lengthy investigation, all three men, Morris, Spencer and Attalla, were charged with second degree criminal nuisance and endangering the welfare of a child.
Morris and Spencer were arrested in January 2026, according to police, while Attalla surrendered to the Jamestown Police Department last week.
Attalla has amassed about 47,000 followers on Facebook, describing his page as a platform ‘for educational purposes and to help spread awareness of online child predators.’
The Jamestown Police Department, led by Chief Scott D Forster, conducted the investigation. Authorities have not released further details about the upcoming court proceedings.