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A man accused of stabbing a Jewish man and an Asian man in attacks on Manhattan’s Upper West Side was charged with hate crime counts Friday, officials said.
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Witnesses reported that the suspect, Raul Morales, 51, yelled “Allahu Akbar” during the attacks Thursday, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch has said.
Morales was arraigned late Friday on two counts of second-degree attempted murder as a hate crime; and one count each of first-degree assault as a hate crime, second-degree assault as a hate crime, and attempted first-degree assault as a hate crime, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said.
A judge ordered Morales, 51, remanded without bail, the office said.
The stabbings happened a few blocks apart on the Upper West Side near Central Park, beginning at around 1:31 p.m., officials said.
Morales first approached a 57-year-old Asian man from behind and shouted “Allahu Akbar” and stabbed him in the back with a knife, a prosecutor said at his late Friday arraignment, according to the district attorney’s office.
Morales then continued walking and and encountered a Jewish man wearing a kippah, a Jewish head covering, who had just left a synagogue, and stabbed him in the chest with a screwdriver, the prosecutor said in court, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Both victims are expected to survive, police said.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said earlier Friday that hate crime charges had been filed and he called the stabbings horrific.
“I am thankful that he is being held accountable and hope he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on X earlier Friday.
“This kind of despicable violence is not who we are as a city. Every New Yorker deserves to be safe, regardless of their religion or race,” he said.
The first attack occurred around 84th Street and Central Park West, police said. The second happened at around 86th Street and Central Park West.
New York City Comptroller Mark Levine at a Friday news conference identified the victims as Chok Sung and Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus. He said Grunhaus was leaving The Jewish Center after attending a service marking Tisha B’av when he was stabbed.
Tisha B’av is a solemn occasion that remembers the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and other calamities.
The Asian man who was stabbed was taken to the hospital with the knife still in his back and underwent surgery Friday morning, the prosecutor said at Friday’s arraignment, according to the district attorney’s office.
Language in the criminal complaint says that a witness saw Morales near a synagogue West 83rd Street saying “justice for Islam,” according to material from the district attorney’s office.
There is no evidence that either victim knew each other or Morales, Tisch said Thursday.
Morales’ next court date was set for July 30, the district attorney’s office said.
Phil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.
Rebecca Cohen is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
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