Overview
- Two separate stabbings on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, which occurred Thursday, left an Asian man and a Jewish man hospitalized at Mt. Sinai–St. Luke’s and expected to survive.
- The NYPD arrested 51-year-old Raul Morales shortly after the incidents and he remains in custody as investigators build the case.
- Victims and witnesses told police the attacker shouted “Allah Akbar” during both assaults and the NYPD is evaluating whether to classify the incidents as hate crimes.
- Authorities say Morales is not listed in NYPD files as having prior psychiatric records but that early investigative signs point to possible mental-health factors and investigators are pursuing medical and forensic leads.
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the attacks as hateful and odious, and prosecutors will decide charges based on whether investigators can show the suspect targeted the victims for protected reasons or acted for other motives.