NYC gunman stabs two men near Central Park, shouts ‘Allahu Akbar’, witnesses recall attack: ‘Knife sticking out…’ | Today’s news

An attacker shouting “Allahu Akbar” was arrested Thursday after police said he stabbed two men in separate, non-fatal attacks on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

Raul Morales, 51, allegedly stabbed an Asian man and a Jewish man and shouted the Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar” during both attacks, witnesses told the police department.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the department is working to determine a motive, according to the Associated Press.

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There was no immediate known connection between Morales and the victims, and the initial investigation indicated that mental health may have been a factor in the attacks, Tisch said.

Morales remained in custody Thursday night and it was not immediately clear if he had an attorney available to speak on his behalf.

The stabbings happened about two blocks apart in broad daylight, police said. Both victims were taken to the hospital and were expected to survive.

Probe on

Investigators were looking into whether the suspect, Raul Morales, 51, was motivated by hate, though Tisch also said “the initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor.”

“Detectives are continuing to work the case and determine a motive, but according to victims and witnesses, Morales shouted ‘Allahu Akbar'” during both attacks, which means ‘God is greatest’ in Arabic, the top police officer said.

“The NYPD is currently evaluating whether this is a potential hate crime,” she wrote.

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Morales, 51, allegedly jumped the first victim, a 57-year-old Asian man, near West 84th Street and Central Park West and stabbed him in the back around 1:30 p.m., police and sources said.

The second victim, a 50-year-old man wearing a yarmulke, was attacked after leaving the synagogue at Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street and stabbed in the torso with a screwdriver, according to police and sources.

Both victims were taken to Saint Luke’s Hospital, where police said they were listed in stable condition, the New York Post reported.

Morales was caught around 2:45 p.m. after allegedly barricading himself in a NYCHA apartment just blocks away on Amsterdam Avenue near West 88th Street, cops said.

Witness account

Nava Silton, who spoke to the second victim at the Jewish Center on West 86th Street before the attack, said she ran outside and spoke to two witnesses who heard the suspect say “Allah Akbar” before the stabbing.

“The offender tried to act like a normal person and that he wasn’t involved and was mumbling that someone should call 911. He was literally pretending that he wasn’t guilty,” Silton told The Post.

She said the victim told her “someone put a screwdriver in the right side of his chest and yelled something,” but she didn’t hear exactly what.

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“It was serious, but he is talking and conscious,” she said of the victim, adding that he is an “incredible person” and that she is praying for him. He was leaving Tisha B’Av services when he was attacked.

Meanwhile, Marianna Ellenberg recalled witnessing the first victim’s wife watch in horror as her husband was accidentally stabbed in the back near West 84th Street and Central Park West.

“He was just like that (on his knees) and the knife was sticking out of his back. He was kind of stoic,” Ellenberg said. “We saw (his wife) cover her mouth. She was just scared.”

“It was like a surreal image because it was during a clear, sunny day at 1:30 p.m. on the Upper West Side, Central Park West. And there was just that scream,” Ellenberg said.

Mamdani reacts

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the stabbing “horrific” and said he was relieved both victims were in stable condition.

“These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city,” Mamdani wrote on the X social network.

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Hate crimes have been on the rise in New York in recent years, while the overall violent crime rate has fallen, according to police data. Tisch said in April that more than half of all confirmed hate crimes in the city so far this year have targeted Jews.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was disgusted by Thursday’s attacks and stressed that New York stands with its Jewish and Asian communities.

“Asian New Yorkers, like Jewish New Yorkers, have endured waves of hate-fueled violence in recent years,” she said in a post on X. “Hate rarely stops at one group. New York will continue to face it wherever it appears.”