The suspect accused of stabbing two men on the Upper West Side on Thursday is facing hate crime charges, according to the NYPD.
Police said 51-year-old Raul Morales was charged with attempted murder as a hate crime and assault as a hate crime for an attack on a Jewish man, and attempted murder charges for an attack on an Asian man. He also faces assault and criminal possession of a weapon charges in both cases.
What You Need To Know
The suspect accused of stabbing two men on the Upper West Side on Thursday is facing hate crime charges, according to the NYPD
Police said 51-year-old Raul Morales was charged with attempted murder as a hate crime, attempted murder, assault as a hate crime, assault and criminal possession of a weapon
The stabbings happened near West 84th and West 86th streets at Central Park West around 1:30 p.m.
The victims were identified by multiple elected officials at a press conference Friday as Chok Sung and Moshe Grunhaus
The stabbings happened near West 84th and West 86th streets at Central Park West around 1:30 p.m.
The victims were identified by multiple elected officials at a press conference Friday as Chok Sung and Moshe Grunhaus. According to City Comptroller Mark Levine, Grunhaus was leaving The Jewish Center on 86th Street when he was stabbed. Sung, meanwhile, was standing on the street looking at an iPad when he was attacked.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said mental health “may have been a factor” in the attacks.
“Detectives are continuing to work the case and determine motive, but according to victim and witness statements, Morales yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ during both attacks,” she wrote on X on Thursday.