The man accused of injuring eight people in what police say was a "violent rampage" with a U-Haul truck in New York City Monday has a history of mental illness and was living in Las Vegas until recently, according to his son. Weng Sor's son, Stephen Sor, 30, told the AP that his 62-year-old father has a history of violence and stints behind bars. "Very frequently he’ll choose to skip out on his medications and do something like this," Stephen Sor said. "This isn’t the first time he’s been arrested. It’s not the first time he’s gone to jail." Weng Sor was taken into custody after allegedly crashing into numerous pedestrians and cyclists. At least two of the injured were hospitalized in critical condition.
Stephen Sor described his relationship with his father as "rocky," and said his father had a history of mental illness, as well as not taking medications and acting out. He said he didn’t speak to his father often and was surprised when he showed up in Brooklyn in the middle of the night about a week ago. "I try to just distance, as long as he leaves us alone," Sor said. Weng Sor’s criminal records date back nearly two decades. In 2015, he stabbed his brother in Las Vegas and served about 17 months in a Nevada prison, according to court and prison records. In 2020, he stabbed someone in the arm and chest with a knife and was sentenced to 364 days in county jail, with about 10 months of time already served.
Before pleading guilty in that case, Sor underwent several months of evaluations at state psychiatric facilities until he was found competent to face charges, court records show. The records don’t list a possible diagnosis, but note that Sor was placed on medications. In an earlier Nevada case, Sor was ordered to undergo counseling and perform community service after pleading guilty to misdemeanor battery in 2005. The judge noted that he was soon moving to New York and ordered him to submit to a mental health evaluation once there.
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