NEW YORK, July 24 (Our New York News) — Police took Raul Morales, 51, into custody after two men were stabbed on Manhattan’s Upper West Side Thursday afternoon, and investigators were examining the attacks as a possible hate crime, New York officials said.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he had been briefed on the case and that the NYPD had apprehended Morales in connection with both assaults. He said witness and victim statements indicated the attacker yelled “Allahu Akbar” during the stabbings.
Police said the attacks happened near Central Park West and that the two men were stabbed in separate but nearby locations. One man was stabbed in the back and the other in the torso, officials said.
Law enforcement sources told NBC New York that a witness saw the suspect walk into a building on Amsterdam Avenue, and a person of interest was taken into custody about an hour later. Police said both victims were taken to Mount Sinai West and were in stable condition. Officials did not immediately announce charges.
