NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A suspect accused of stabbing two men on the Upper West Side Thursday afternoon was charged with attempted murder, with added hate crime charges in the attack of a Jewish victim, authorities announced Friday.
Raul Morales, 51, was taken into custody after allegedly stabbing a 57-year-old Asian man in the back at 84th Street and Central Park West at about 1:30 p.m. Shortly after, Morales is accused of stabbing a 50-year-old Jewish man at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, down the street from a synagogue.
Police said that according to witness and victim statements, the assailant yelled “Allahu Akbar” during both attacks, leading investigators to look into whether or not it was a hate crime. Officials said that Morales allegedly used a blade and a screwdriver during the attacks.
Both men were hospitalized at Mount Sinai Morningside and are expected to survive.
Morales is charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon in the first attack, and attempted murder as a hate crime, first-degree assault as a hate crime, first-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon in the stabbing of the Jewish victim.
According to statements posted to social media by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, while the victim had no known mental health history with the NYPD, mental health may have been a factor in the attacks.
In his statement, Mamdani condemned the stabbings, stating: "These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city."
A group of civic, political and religious leaders gathered in the neighborhood on Friday morning to call on the city to do more to quell hate, citing the dangers of hateful language.
