NEED TO KNOW
Two men were stabbed in separate attacks on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and are expected to survive
Police arrested Raul Morales, 51, after a bystander followed him and alerted authorities to his location
Investigators are evaluating the stabbings as potential hate crimes amid rising hate crime rates in New York City
Two men were stabbed in separate attacks on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Thursday afternoon in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime after the suspect allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” — Arabic for “God is greatest” — during both assaults.
The suspect, identified by the New York Police Department as 51-year-old Raul Morales, was arrested shortly after the attacks, which occurred about two blocks apart around 1:30 p.m.
According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, detectives are still working to determine a motive. One victim is Asian and the other is Jewish, she said, and the department is evaluating whether the stabbings should be classified as hate crimes.
The victims were identified by The New York Times as 57-year-old Chok Sung and 50-year-old Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus. Both men were taken to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital and are expected to survive.
Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit investigate the scene of a stabbing attack at the intersection of West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan on July 23, 2026
Credit: Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty
Police said Morales first approached Sung near West 84th Street and Central Park West, where he allegedly stabbed him in the back with a knife. He then walked several blocks north, where authorities say he stabbed Grunhaus in the torso with a screwdriver near West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
Morales was arrested at a nearby apartment building after someone followed him and alerted police. Witnesses told the New York Daily News the person was a UPS delivery driver who tailed the suspect after the attacks.
“I want to commend the bravery of a bystander 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,” Tisch said.
Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit investigate the scene of a stabbing attack at the intersection of West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan on July 23, 2026
Credit: Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty
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Authorities said there is no known connection between Morales and either victim or between the two victims themselves.
Public records show two drug-related arrests for Morales from 1991, while several other cases have been sealed.
Tisch added that while Morales has no known mental health history with the NYPD, “the initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor.”
As investigators worked to determine a motive, city and state leaders denounced the attacks.
“These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement. “The NYPD’s initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor. They are also evaluating these stabbings as potential hate crimes.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was “disgusted” by what “appears to be another senseless attack on New Yorkers simply because they’re Jewish.”
“The strength of New York has always been our ability to live together across every faith and background,” Hochul wrote on X. “Anyone 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.”
City Council Speaker Julie Menin echoed those concerns, saying the violence had left many Jewish New Yorkers on edge. “I am absolutely sickened and furious by what appears to be an antisemitic stabbing on the Upper West Side,” Menin wrote on X. “While 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.”
“We must remain united in condemning antisemitism and ensuring those responsible are held fully accountable. I thank the NYPD for its swift response in apprehending the assailant,” she added. “My prayers are with the victims and their loved ones.”
The stabbings come as hate crimes in New York City have continued to rise.
According to NYPD data cited by The New York Times, the city had recorded 322 confirmed hate crimes through the beginning of July, an increase of nearly 8% from the same period last year. About half of those incidents targeted Jewish people, making antisemitic attacks the largest category of hate crimes reported in the city.
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