A deranged knife-wielding man attacked US Attorney John A. Sarcone III on Tuesday night outside of a hotel in Albany, New York.
The man, now identified as Saul Morales-Garcia, allegedly approached Sarcone and attempted to stab him after a brief verbal exchange. It was later revealed that the alleged assailant is an illegal immigrant.
From the Times Union:
Authorities said Sarcone’s attacker, Saul Morales-Garcia, is from El Salvador and was in the country illegally. He had been previously deported and apparently reentered the U.S. recently and made his way to Albany.
Morales-Garcia told police that he was unaware that Sarcone is the U.S. attorney. Sarcone had stepped outside the hotel and was smoking a cigar when Morales-Garcia approached him and they exchanged words before Morales-Garcia allegedly pulled out a knife.
Albany County sheriff’s deputies working nearby were summoned to the scene and apprehended the suspect. Sarcone called Sheriff Craig Apple for help because he had his mobile number in his contact list.
Morales-Garcia is facing charges for attempted second-degree murder, one felony count of third-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, and one misdemeanor count of second-degree menacing.
The suspect allegedly “displayed a knife and aggressively charged at the victim while also making motions to cut the victim’s throat with the knife, causing the victim to retreat to avoid being stabbed and cut,” CBS 6 reported.
Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon indicated that the incident was not a targeted assassination attempt, but a random encounter, according to WNYT.
The suspect has a criminal record in three states, excluding New York.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) condemned the attack in a post on X, criticizing Gov. Kathy Hochul for her failure to address crime in the state. “Three separate times, Hochul signed executive orders to protect violent illegal aliens from deportation,” the lawmaker wrote. “Kathy Hochul puts illegals first and New Yorkers last. We desperately need a governor who puts New Yorkers first and restores law and order to our streets.”
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In Kathy Hochul's New York, nobody is safe, not even President Trump's U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of NY John A. Sarcone III, who was 'confronted and chased' by an illegal alien armed with a knife in Albany last night, the Times Union reported.
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) June 18, 2025
Three separate times,… pic.twitter.com/kZAWxEwkWs
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan expressed gratitude for Morales-Garcia’s arrest. “We are grateful that the individual accused of threatening U.S. Attorney Sarcone with a knife has been arrested. As I have said many times before: if you commit a violent crime in the City of Albany, we will find you, arrest you, and do everything we can to hold you accountable — regardless of where you are from,” she said.
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