Manhattan Upper West Side Stabbings Under Investigation as Possible Hate Crimes
Police arrested a 51-year-old suspect after two men were stabbed near Central Park, with investigators assessing whether the attacks were hate-motivated.
Two men were stabbed on Manhattan's Upper West Side on Thursday afternoon, prompting a police investigation into possible hate-crime motives. The attacks occurred near West 84th Street and Central Park West around 1:30 p.m., when a 57-year-old man was stabbed in the back. He was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital in stable condition. A second victim, a 50-year-old man, was found two blocks north with a puncture wound to the torso, allegedly caused by a screwdriver, and was also transported to the same hospital in stable condition.
NYPD identified the suspect as 51-year-old Raul Morales. Commissioner Jessica Tisch said no additional suspects are being sought and that charges were still pending. Morales barricaded himself inside a NYCHA apartment building on Amsterdam Avenue and West 88th Street before being apprehended by the Emergency Service Unit after a brief standoff.
"One victim is Asian and the other is Jewish, and witness statements indicate Morales shouted 'Allahu Akbar' during both attacks," Tisch said.
"I 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," she added.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Governor Kathy Hochul and other local officials condemned the assaults on social media, describing them as hateful and unacceptable. A nearby resident expressed surprise at the violence in a neighborhood she considered safe.
Authorities noted no known connection between Morales and the victims and said mental-health factors might have played a role, though no prior mental-health history for Morales was identified.