NYC attacker stabs two men near Central Park, yells ‘Allahu Akbar’, witnesses recall attack: 'knife was sticking out..'
Raul Morales, 51, allegedly stabbed an Asian man and a Jewish man and yelled the Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar" during both attacks, witnesses told the police department.Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the department was working to determine a motive.There wasn't immediately any known link between Morales and the victims, and the initial investigation suggested that mental health may have been a factor in the attacks, Tisch said.Morales remained in custody Thursday evening and it wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.The stabbings happened about two blocks apart in broad daylight, police said. Both victims were taken to a hospital and were expected to survive.Probe onInvestigators were probing whether the suspect Raul Morales, 51, was motivated by hate, though Tisch also said “the initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor.”“Detectives are continuing to work the case and determine motive, but according to victim and witness statements, Morales yelled ‘Allahu Akbar,'” meaning, “God is the greatest” in Arabic, during both attacks, the top cop was quoted as saying.“The NYPD is currently evaluating whether this is a potential hate crime,” she wrote.Morales, 51, allegedly jumped the first victim, a 57-year-old Asian man near West 84th Street and Central Park West, and stabbed him in the back with a knife at around 1:30 p.m., police and the sources said.The second victim, a 50-year-old man wearing a yarmulke, was attacked after leaving a synagogue at Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street, and stabbed in the torso with a screwdriver, according to cops and sources.Both victims were brought to Saint Luke’s Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition according to police, the New York Post reported.Morales was caught around 2:45 p.m. after he allegedly barricaded himself inside a NYCHA apartment just blocks away on Amsterdam Avenue near West 88th Street, cops said.Witness accountNava Silton, who was speaking with the second victim inside the Jewish Center on West 86th Street before the attack, said she ran out and spoke to two witnesses who heard the suspect say “Allah Akbar” before the stabbing.“The perpetrator tried to act like a normal person and that he wasn’t involved and muttering someone should call 911. Literally pretending he was not culpable,” Silton told The Post.She said that the victim told her “someone drove a screwdriver into the right side of his chest and yelled something,” but didn’t hear exactly what.“It was serious, but he’s speaking, and he’s conscious,” she said of the victim, adding that he was “an incredible person” and that she was praying for him. He had been leaving Tisha B’Av services when he was attacked.Meanwhile, Marianna Ellenberg recalled witnessing the wife of the first victim watch in horror as her husband was randomly knifed in the back near West 84th Street and Central Park West.“He was entirely like this [kneeling on his knees], and the knife was sticking out his back. He was just like kind of so stoic,” Ellenberg said. “We saw her [his wife] covering her mouth. She was just scared.”“Like it was like a surreal image because it was during a bright, sunny 1:30 p.m. Upper West Side, Central Park West day. And there was just this cry,” Ellenberg said.Mamdani reactsNew York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the stabbings "horrifying" and said he was relieved that both victims were in stable condition."These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city," Mamdani posted on the social media platform X.Hate crimes in New York City have been on the rise in recent years, while overall violent crime rates have dropped, according to police data. Tisch said in April that more than half of all confirmed hate crimes in the
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