Two men were stabbed in quick succession on the Upper West Side on Thursday afternoon in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime. The attacks unfolded across a few blocks before the suspect holed up in a nearby apartment and was talked out by police.
Advertisement
The first attack happened just after 1:30 p.m. near West 84th Street and Central Park West, where a 57-year-old man was stabbed in the upper body. Minutes later and a couple of blocks north, a 50-year-old man was stabbed in the chest with a screwdriver near West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.Both men were rushed to Mount Sinai Morningside. One was initially listed in critical condition, but police later said both victims are expected to survive.
The timing sharpened the alarm: the attacks came on an annual Jewish day of mourning. One of the victims is Asian and the other is Jewish, police said, and investigators have found no connection between the two men or between either of them and the suspect.
After the second stabbing, the attacker fled and slipped into an apartment building on Amsterdam Avenue between 88th and 89th streets, barricading himself inside a unit. A good Samaritan pointed officers to the apartment, and the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit negotiated with the man before taking him into custody around 2:45 p.m. A weapon was recovered near 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
Police identified the suspect as Raul Morales, 51. Investigators said he has a handful of prior arrests, including two drug-related arrests dating to 1991, with several others sealed. He was expected to face charges Friday, though charges were still pending as of Friday morning.
The hate-crime question centers on what witnesses say they heard. In a statement, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said victims and witnesses reported that Morales yelled “Allahu Akbar” during both attacks, and that the department is evaluating whether the stabbings qualify as a hate crime. Tisch cautioned it was too early to say for certain and added that Morales has no known mental-health history with the NYPD, though “the initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor.”
This afternoon, two people were stabbed in separate attacks on the Upper West Side. Both victims — an Asian male and a Jewish male — were removed to Mt. Sinai-St. Luke’s Hospital, and both are expected to survive.
The NYPD has arrested 51-year-old Raul Morales in connection…
— Jessica S. Tisch (@NYPDPC) July 23, 2026
Advertisement
The attacks drew swift condemnation from City Hall and beyond. In a statement posted to social media, Mayor Mamdani called the violence “hateful and despicable” while noting the NYPD’s early read that mental health may have been a factor. City Council Speaker Julie Menin said she was “absolutely sickened and furious by what appears to be an antisemitic stabbing on the Upper West Side,” and State Assemblymember Micah Lasher said constituents were rattled, with the neighborhood focused on “praying for the victims and their survival and recovery.”By Friday morning, the response had escalated into a coordinated call for prosecution. State, city and Jewish community leaders gathered for a news conference urging the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to charge the case as a hate crime. UJA-Federation of New York CEO Eric Goldstein delivered a pointed message to the mayor: “Mayor Mamdani, stop fanning the flames of hatred and division. The consequences are not abstract. They are playing out on our streets.” Mark Treyger of the Jewish Community Relations Council said, “We expect the district attorney to fully prosecute this to the fullest extent of the law.”
Attorney General Letitia James said she had spoken with Commissioner Tisch and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg about the case and voiced support for the Jewish and Asian communities. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams struck a similar note: “If one person is hurting, we are all hurting.”
Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
