The man who stabbed former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin in prison intentionally attacked Black Friday as a symbolic connection to the Black Lives Matter movement, according to investigators.
Former Mexican Mafia member John Turscak, 52, stabbed Chauvin 22 times inside a Tucson federal prison and said he would have killed him if correctional officers had not responded so quickly, prosecutors said.
He is now charged with attempted murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in bodily harm.
Turscak, who is serving a 30-year sentence for crimes committed while working as an FBI informant, said he thought about stabbing the former police officer convicted of killing black man George Floyd by kneeling on his neck during his arrest for months before the act.
Turscak attacked Chauvin with an “improvised knife” with the “intent to cause bodily harm” and “commit murder,” according to the criminal complaint seen by The Post.
He told investigators he chose Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when stores host sales events, for his attack because it was “symbolic of the Black Lives Matter movement and the ‘Black Hand’ symbol associated with it.” with the Mexican Mafia criminal organization,” according to FBI agents who interviewed him on November 26.
Derek Chauvin was stabbed 22 times, prosecutors say. Minnesota Courts
The attack on the disgraced police officer took place around 12:30 p.m. on November 24 inside the facility’s law library. Officers used pepper spray to subdue Turscak.
Chauvin, who is serving a 22-year sentence for Floyd’s death, was taken to a hospital for “emergency medical treatment” after employees had to perform “life-saving measures.”
Turscak waived his Miranda Rights for his interview with the FBI, where he denied intending to kill Chauvin.
A standard housing unit with a central common area at the federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, where Chauvin is serving his 21-year federal sentence. Federal Bureau of Prisons
There was no lawyer for the criminal, although he had represented himself on previous occasions.
He has since been moved to an adjacent federal facility, where he remains.
Tursak was convicted in 1997 of crimes he committed while working as an FBI informant against the Mexican Mafia. His work resulted in an indictment against 40 alleged mob members and associates, according to a 2001 Los Angeles Times report.
The Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, where Derek Chauvin was stabbed by a fellow inmate. google maps
However, during his time as an informant, he trafficked drugs, extorted, and authorized attacks. He was ruled out as an informant and charged with extortion and conspiracy to kill a rival gang member, The Times reported.
At the time, Tursak claimed he told the FBI about his methods and they allegedly told him, “Do what you have to do.”
“I didn’t commit those crimes for fun. “I made them because I had to if I wanted to stay alive,” she said at the time.
Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd. AP
Chauvin, on the other hand, rose to fame in May 2020 after he was photographed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine and a half minutes, causing his death.
He was sentenced to nearly two decades in federal prison in July 2022 for depriving Floyd of his rights.
His condition after the stabbing is still unknown. Chauvin’s attorney, Greg Erickson, told The Post on Wednesday that his client’s family has not been able to speak with the former police officer and is unaware of his current condition.
“They say he’s stable, but he could also be stable but unconscious, we just don’t know,” Erickson said. “That’s all they told us.
Erickson could not immediately be reached Friday afternoon.
With mail cables.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn