NEW YORK, July 24 (Our New York News) — New York police took a suspect into custody after two men were stabbed on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and investigators were treating the attacks as a possible hate crime, officials said.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said police identified the suspect as Raul Morales, 51, and that the NYPD “responded immediately and arrested Raul Morales in connection with both assaults.” Mamdani said he had been briefed on the case and that witness and victim statements included reports that the attacker yelled “Allahu Akbar” during both assaults.
Police said the stabbings happened Thursday afternoon in two nearby places on the Upper West Side. One man was stabbed in the back and another was stabbed in the torso or chest, according to police accounts.
The victims were taken to Mount Sinai West, where police said both were in stable condition. ABC News reported that one victim was in critical condition, but did not identify which man.
A witness saw the suspect walk into a building on Amsterdam Avenue, law-enforcement sources told NBC New York, and a person of interest was taken into custody about an hour later.
