{"id":304264,"date":"2026-07-23T23:10:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T23:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/304264\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T23:10:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T23:10:23","slug":"man-screaming-allahu-akbar-stabs-upper-west-side-jewish-man-second-victim-in-back-to-back-daylight-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/304264\/","title":{"rendered":"Man screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ stabs Upper West Side Jewish man, second victim, in back-to-back daylight attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

An armed man screaming \u201cAllahu Akbar\u201d wounded two strangers, one a Jewish man, in a wild stabbing spree on Manhattan\u2019s Upper West Side before cops arrested him at a nearby building Thursday, police<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

Cops were trying to determine why the suspect, identified as 51-year-old Raul Morales, targeted his two victims and if the dual attacks were motivated by hate. Charges against Morales were pending Thursday evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NYPD is currently evaluating whether this is a potential hate crime<\/a>,\u201d Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on X. \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<\/p>\n

The violence began when Morales stabbed a 57-year-old man in the back at W. 84th St. and Central Park West around 1:31 p.m., according to law enforcement.<\/p>\n

A local building worker showed the Daily News an image of the victim, an Asian man, with a knife jutting from his back.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was on the corner of W. 84th St., bleeding,\u201d said the worker, who asked that his name be withheld. \u201cHe was squatting with the knife sticking out of his back. Crazy man, crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marrianna Ellenberg was taking her 91-year-old father to see a doctor when she looked out her car window to witness the attack, which she said was \u201clike a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived in worse neighborhoods,\u201d said Ellenberg. \u201cI\u2019ve been robbed myself, but to actually see the knife sticking out, that kind of cruel violence at 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. It just kind of reminds you, this idea of your safety zone, like, nothing is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy elderly parents live here now,\u201d she added. \u201cIt just doesn\u2019t make you feel great.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe southwest corner of W. 84th St. and Central Park West in Manhattan, where a man was randomly stabbed in the back on July 23, 2026. (Kerry Burke \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Morales ran off and reappeared moments later around the corner from The Jewish Center<\/a>, a prominent Upper West Side synagogue on W. 86th St. and Amsterdam Ave., where he stabbed his second victim, a 50-year-old Jewish man, in the stomach with a screwdriver.<\/p>\n

The victim was exiting The Jewish Center from a rear entrance when Morales jumped him, a police source said.<\/p>\n

Juan Garcia, a local restaurant worker, watched as the stabber attacked the second victim.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a Jewish guy with a yarmulke,\u201d Garcia, 26, said. \u201cHe was on his knees. He was bleeding from the right side. The screwdriver was on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both victims were taken to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital where they\u2019re expected to survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to victim and witness statements, Morales yelled \u201cAllahu Akbar\u201d during both attacks,\u201d Tisch said.<\/p>\n

Cops alerted to the attacks were flagged down by a good Samaritan who spotted Morales entering a NYCHA apartment building on Amsterdam Ave. near W. 89th St. Cops arrested Morales inside the building.<\/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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am relieved that both victims are in stable condition,\u201d Mayor Mamdani added on X. \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<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NYPD\u2019s initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor,\u201d the Mayor added. \u201cThey are also evaluating these stabbings as potential hate crimes. These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stabbing outside the Jewish Center immediately stoked fears that the attack was antisemitic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am absolutely sickened and furious by what appears to be an antisemitic stabbing on the Upper West Side,\u201d City Council Speaker Julie Menin said Thursday. \u201cWhile we await additional details to be confirmed, we know that what is happening in our city is abhorrent<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fear in the Jewish community is real. Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood, regardless of their faith or identity,\u201d she added. \u201cWe must remain united in condemning antisemitism and ensuring those responsible are held fully accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An armed man screaming \u201cAllahu Akbar\u201d wounded two strangers, one a Jewish man, in a wild stabbing spree…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3862,9,11,10,26058,2442,62,115326],"class_list":["post-304264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-antisemitism","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-random-attack","tag-stabbings","tag-upper-west-side","tag-yarmulke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}