UPPER WEST SIDE, NY— A man stabbed two people in separate attacks near Central Park on the Upper West Side before police arrested him at a nearby apartment building, police report.
The suspect yelled "Allahu akbar" during both assaults and are examining whether the attacks were motivated by bias, according to authorities.
The suspect, identified by police as 51-year-old Raul Morales, attacked the victims in separate incidents around 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Both men survived and were taken to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said investigators are examining whether the attacks qualify as hate crimes while continuing to investigate Morales' motive.
"It appears that his mental state may have played a role," Tisch said.
She added that the department has no documented history of mental health incidents involving Morales.
Morales first approached a 57-year-old man near West 84th Street and Central Park West and stabbed him in the back with a knife, police report.
Morales then walked several blocks to West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, where he approached a second man and stabbed him in the torso with a screwdriver, according to authorities.
Police have not identified a motive.
Law enforcement officials identified the first victim as 57-year-old Chok Sung, an Asian man.
The second victim, 50-year-old Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, is Jewish.
Both victims are expected to survive.
Tisch said detectives are evaluating whether the stabbings were motivated by bias.
The investigation remains active, and police have not announced any charges related to hate crimes.
The attacks came as New York City continues to record elevated numbers of hate crime investigations.
According to the NYPD, confirmed hate crimes increased nearly 8 percent through early July compared with the same period last year.
About half of those cases targeted Jewish people, making antisemitic incidents the largest category of hate crimes reported in the City.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the attacks after Morales' arrest.
"These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city," Mamdani said.
The stabbings drew immediate reactions from several Jewish elected officials and organizations, including the UJA-Federation of New York, which said it was "horrified — but not surprised" by the attacks.
Police said Morales returned to his apartment in a New York City Housing Authority building on Amsterdam Avenue after the attacks.
Emergency Service Unit officers later arrested him inside the apartment without further incident.
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