Sachs police statement: Girls were targeted, too

For weeks before being charged with repeatedly stabbing a random 8-year-old boy in the back, Evan R. Sachs of Merrick prowled Long Island malls "and looked at young girls and pretended to accidentally brush up against young boys and girls," according to court records summarizing Sachs' statements to police.

Sachs would fantasize about the little girls and "hurting the little boys" when he went to the Roosevelt Field, Broadway, Walt Whitman and other malls, the records say.

Sachs, 23, a movie-theater usher, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder, felony first-degree assault and misdemeanor possession of a dangerous weapon in Friday evening's stabbing of the boy, whom authorities have not publicly named.

Nassau police say Sachs walked into the Westbury Dave & Buster's arcade section, approached the boy from behind and plunged a black hunting knife into his back five times.

In a note police say was found in Sachs' pocket and in statements police say he made after his arrest, Sachs spelled out his intention to kill a boy and described the recent trips to malls to find a victim.

Sachs, who court records indicate told cops "he has always been attracted to young children as young as 8 years old," bought the knife at Dick's Sporting Goods "knowing he would use it to hurt a boy," the records say.

He chose Dave & Buster's on a Friday night "as he believed he would have the best opportunity to hurt a boy because it was busy" and "stayed at the mall all day waiting for an opportune time to strike when a child was not with their parent."

The court records also say that the police interview of Sachs was videotaped.

Sachs' criminal defense attorney, Charles Rosenblum, said Wednesday that his hope now is to get help for his client.

"Our objective now is to get him the help that he needs, and we hope to get the DA's office on board with that," Rosenblum said.

Sachs, 23, was brought to the court complex in Mineola Wednesday morning while his case was called, but did not appear in the courtroom, lawyers said.

His next court date is Nov. 4 before Nassau County Court Judge Jerald Carter.

The boy who was stabbed has been released from Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, a spokesman there said. He had suffered a punctured lung.

Rosenblum said Sachs and his parents were "relieved to hear the boy is doing well," and said that Sachs "absolutely" feels remorseful about what happened. He said Sachs' medication was recently changed.

Asked whether the change could have contributed to the attack, Rosenblum said, "Anything is possible. This is what we're trying to understand."