Overview
- Two men were stabbed in separate attacks on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Thursday and both victims were taken to Mount Sinai–St. Luke’s Hospital and are expected to survive.
- Police arrested 51-year-old Raul Morales and prosecutors arraigned him on Friday on attempted murder and related counts while applying hate‑crime enhancements to the attack on the Jewish victim; he was remanded without bail and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
- Witness and victim statements say the attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar” during both assaults, detectives recovered books and religious texts from his apartment and officials say mental‑health concerns may have played a role in the incidents.
- Jewish and Asian community leaders held rallies and publicly pressed city officials for safety measures, and several Jewish leaders blamed Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rhetoric about Israel for contributing to a hostile climate.
- Hate crimes targeting Jewish New Yorkers have risen this year, prosecutors have discretion in applying enhancements, and investigators will review CCTV, witness statements and other evidence to clarify motive and guide prosecution.