17-year-old Times Square killer admits murder was inspired by 'mess with crackheads' TikTok trend: police

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in the deadly stabbing of a man who was sleeping in Times Square. When he was taken into custody by police, he told them that the attack was part of a TikTok trend known as "mess with crackheads."

Jayden Sanchez was taken into custody by police at around 8 pm on Wednesday in New York City after the brutal stabbing attack that left Leonides Baez, 39, dead, according to the New York Post. Officers were conducting an inspection of a station when he avoided paying the public transit fare.

The police then realized he was wanted in the killing that had taken place just two nights beforehand. He also had a scalpel in his possession when he was taken into custody, according to sources that spoke to the outlet. After being arrested by police, Sanchez said that the attack had been part of a TikTok trend meant to "mess with crackheads."

Later, when questioned by reporters, Sanchez claimed that the killing was self-defense. “Boy, it was self-defense bro! Get off my d*ck," he exclaimed at a reporter when he was asked why he killed Baez. “He punched and he slapped me. That was a grown man beating on a kid," he added.

He claimed that he was "just walking and he came at me." While speaking to reporters, he denied that it was part of a social media trend. “No, I’m not part of that,” he said when he was asked about his reported statement to the police.

Sanchez was arraigned on Thursday evening with 11 counts, which include murder, robbery, assault, and others. Baez was stabbed in the torso and slashed across the face in the attack. Video of the attack showed Sanchez and a couple of his friends approach the man “who appeared to be sleeping on the ground,” the complaint said. Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran revealed that the group of thugs “urinated in a cup and threw the urine” on Baez after walking up to him.

Sanchez was then seen on camera taking an object from his vest pocket and stabbing Baez in the chest. Sanchez had a lengthy violent history leading up to the killing. “This is part of a sort of rampage of behavior by the defendant in the days and months leading up to this incident,” Yoran said.