News footage of Samy Sedhom heading into court on April 2 (WNBC).
A New York man who allegedly fired a crossbow at his sister”s face nearly killed her, according to authorities.
Samy Sedhom, 21, appeared in court on Thursday to plead not guilty to charges of attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the Feb. 13 attack on his 28-year-old sister at their family’s home in Lawrence, New York. According to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, Sedhom waited for his sister to come home from the gym before aiming a crossbow at her head and striking her in the face, causing a 6-inch laceration that required emergency surgery.
Donnelly said the alleged attack was the culmination of an ongoing disagreement about “the temperature in their home.” Sedhom allegedly “came within inches” of killing his sister.
Sedhom was arraigned on Thursday after being indicted by a grand jury. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. His defense attorney, Stephen Mullkoff, spoke to local NBC affiliate WNBC and said Sedhom “intended to scare his sister and never intended to hurt her in any way.” In February, Mullkoff described the alleged incident as a “prank.”
Donnelly told the station that she found that statement “so unbelievable.”
In a press release from the DA’s office, Donnelly called Sedhom’s alleged attack “violent and calculated.” She said Sedhom “allegedly tracked his sister and lain in wait before brutally attacking her with a crossbow in a clear attempt to take her life. An attack that was born out of revenge for an ongoing dispute about the temperature in their home and came within inches of being fatal.”
Mullkoff said in February that Sedhom “absolutely suffers from an undiagnosed mental health condition,” but Donnelly was also not buying that argument. While speaking to the media outside the courtroom, Donnelly said, “There was too much planning that went into this. It wasn’t, you know, a mental break of some sort.”
Donnelly told the media, “He had to order this crossbow, have it delivered, put it together. So there was planning involved.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, Sedhom allegedly told police after his arrest that he had been planning to kill his sister, a registered nurse, since Christmas 2025. The alleged confession was caught on police body camera, the DA said.
On the night of Feb. 13, Sedhom’s sister returned to the family home from the gym and parked her car in the detached garage. As she was entering the code to close the garage door, she suddenly felt a sharp pain on the side of her face and noticed she was bleeding. She called police and told them she saw Sedhom sitting in his car, which was parked across the street from the home.
Sedhom’s sister was taken to the hospital where she underwent emergency surgery for a 6-inch laceration to her face. Local newspaper Newsday reported that according to Donnelly, she is “healing very well,” but “she had to have three layers of stitching to close the wound.”
Prosecutors said Sedhom shot his sister with a “high-performance Barnett Whitetail Hunter Crossbow.” Prosecutors also said that before the alleged attack, he purchased a 3-pack of hunting arrows and a GPS device that he used to track his sister’s vehicle. Police said they found the box for the crossbow in Sedhom’s bedroom.
Sedhom allegedly tried to discard the crossbow at an intersection, but it was later recovered by the Nassau County Police Department.
Sedhom pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, two counts of assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. He was ordered to remain in jail without bail and undergo a psychological evaluation to determine his competency to stand trial. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 30.
