A deranged attacker yelling \u201cAllahu Akbar\u201d stabbed two men in separate attacks on the Upper West Side Thursday afternoon, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.<\/p>\n
Investigators were probing whether the suspect Raul Morales, 51, was motivated by hate, though Tisch also said \u201cthe initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cDetectives are continuing to work the case and determine motive, but according to victim and witness statements, Morales yelled \u2018Allahu Akbar,’\u201d meaning, \u201cGod is the greatest\u201d in Arabic, during both attacks, the top cop said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NYPD is currently evaluating whether this is a potential hate crime,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
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 with a knife at around 1:30 p.m., police and the sources said.<\/p>\n
The alleged stabber who knifed two men in an unprovoked attack on Thursday. Manhattan Shomrim<\/p>\n
The second victim, a 50-year-old man wearing a yarmulke, was attacked after leaving a synagogue at Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street, and stabbed in the torso with a screwdriver, according to cops and sources.<\/p>\n
Both victims were brought to Saint Luke\u2019s Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition according to police.<\/p>\n
Police at the scene of the stabbing near the intersection of West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan on July 23, 2026. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n
Morales was caught around 2:45 p.m. after he allegedly barricaded himself inside a NYCHA apartment just blocks away on Amsterdam Avenue near West 88th Street, cops said.<\/p>\n
Nava Silton, who was speaking with the second victim inside the Jewish Center on West 86th Street before the attack, said she ran out and spoke to two witnesses who heard the suspect say \u201cAllah Akbar\u201d before the stabbing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe perpetrator tried to act like a normal person and that he wasn\u2019t involved and muttering someone should call 911. Literally pretending he was not culpable,\u201d Silton told The Post.<\/p>\n
She said that the victim told her \u201csomeone drove a screwdriver into the right side of his chest and yelled something,\u201d but didn\u2019t hear exactly what.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was serious, but he\u2019s speaking, and he\u2019s conscious,\u201d she said of the victim, adding that he was \u201can incredible person\u201d and that she was praying for him. He had been leaving Tisha B\u2019Av services when he was attacked.<\/p>\n
An NYPD officer near the scene of the stabbing on West 84th Street and Central Park West on Thursday. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n
Marianna Ellenberg recalled witnessing the wife of the first victim watch in horror as her husband was randomly knifed in the back near West 84th Street and Central Park West.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was entirely like this [kneeling on his knees], and the knife was sticking out his back. He was just like kind of so stoic,\u201d Ellenberg said. \u201cWe saw her [his wife] covering her mouth. She was just scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike it was like a surreal image because it was during a bright, sunny 1:30 p.m. Upper West Side, Central Park West day. And there was just this cry,\u201d Ellenberg said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Michael Jacobs and Morris Dahan, members of Manhattan Shomrim, a volunteer civilian watch group in Orthodox communities, rushed to the scene after receiving calls about the stabbing.<\/p>\n
The second victim was \u201cidentifiable as Jewish\u201d when he was stabbed, Jacobs described.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was fully identifiable as Jewish. He was wearing a skull cap, a yarmulke, a kippah, and he lives here in the neighborhood. He\u2019s known in the neighborhood. He\u2019s a respected person in the neighborhood. Minding his own business, just going to pray, \u201c Jacobs said.<\/p>\n
Dahan also said it was \u201cunbelievable\u201d how cops managed to pull Morales out of the nearby NYCHA apartment.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was inside of an apartment, and they went in there, 50, 60 cops with dogs, canine, sledgehammers, whatever they need to break into doors. And sure enough, 15 minutes later, they came out with him,\u201d Dahan said.<\/p>\n
Charges were not immediately filed against Morales, who sources said suffers from mental health issues and has at least two prior arrests, both for drug possession back in 1991.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n A witness observed Morales walking erratically and shouting incoherently \u2014 including yelling the word \u201cIslam\u201d \u2014 on Columbus Avenue near West 86th Street roughly half an hour after officers responded to the first stabbing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the perpetrator has no known mental health history with the NYPD, the initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor,\u201d Tisch said.<\/p>\n A knife and screwdriver were recovered following his arrest, police said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI want to commend the bravery of a good Samaritan who led our officers to the location where the perpetrator was hiding, as well as our NYPD cops who brought an end to the incident without further injuries,\u201d Tisch said in the statement.<\/p>\n Several lawmakers blasted the stabbing as another apparent \u201csenseless\u201d attack on Jewish New Yorkers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDisgusted by what appears to be another senseless attack on New Yorkers simply because they\u2019re Jewish,\u201d Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote in a statement on X.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe strength of New York has always been our ability to live together across every faith and background,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cAnyone who tries to tear that apart will be met with the full force of the law. New York will stand with our Jewish community today, tomorrow, and always.\u201d<\/p>\n The investigation is still ongoing. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n City Council Speaker Julie Menin added in a statement that she was \u201cabsolutely sickened and furious by what appears to be an antisemitic stabbing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we await additional details to be confirmed, we know that what is happening in our city is abhorrent. The fear in the Jewish community is real. Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood, regardless of their faith or identity,\u201d Menin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mayor Zohran Mamdani also wrote on X that he had been briefed on the \u201chorrifying stabbings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to witness and victim statements, the perpetrator yelled \u201cAllahu Akbar\u201d during both attacks. I am relieved that both victims are in stable condition,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe NYPD responded immediately and arrested Raul Morales in connection with both assaults\u2014and I am grateful to the officers for their swift response,\u201d Hizzoner added. \u201cThe NYPD\u2019s initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor. They are also evaluating these stabbings as potential hate crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n State Assemblyman Micah Lasher (D-Manhattan) also said he was aware of the incident and \u201cpraying for the survival and recovery of the victims.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Additional reporting by Amanda Woods<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A deranged attacker yelling \u201cAllahu Akbar\u201d stabbed two men in separate attacks on the Upper West Side Thursday…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":955540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,18061,5248,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,8626,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":["post-955539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-central-park","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-stabbings","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-us-news","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116973255397340493","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=955539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/955540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=955539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=955539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=955539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}