TIMES SQUARE SUSPECT WANTED ‘ TO KILL THEM ALL’

NEW YORK

A man accused of mowing down a crowd of Times Square pedestrians with his car, killing one, has made his first appearance in court.

The New York Police Department said 26- year- old Richard Rojas, of the Bronx, was charged late Thursday with murder and 20 counts of attempted murder as well as five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide.

Manhattan prosecutors said in court that Rojas told police after his arrest that he wanted to “kill them all.”

They said he also told police they should have shot him.

Rojas’s lawyer and weeping supporters had no comment Friday.

Police say he drove his car for three blocks into Times Square midday Thursday, hitting nearly two dozen people before steel security barriers finally stopped him.

An 18- year- old tourist from Michigan was killed. Her 13- year- old sister was among the 22 injured, four of them critically.

Officials say Rojas served in the U.S. Navy but was discharged following disciplinary problems.

After his arrest, he told police he was “hearing voices” and expected to die, two law enforcement officials said.

After the wreck he emerged from his vehicle running, yelling and jumping before being subdued by police and bystanders.

Rojas initially tested negative for alcohol, but more detailed drug tests were pending, officials said.