A chilling incident unfolded in New York City, where a man reportedly went on a stabbing spree outside a synagogue while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar,’ landing him in police custody.
Identified as 51-year-old Raul Morales, the suspect was captured on Thursday afternoon. Authorities allege he first attacked a 57-year-old, stabbing him in the torso around 1:30 PM, before targeting a 50-year-old near Central Park’s Orthodox synagogue.
The victims, one of Asian descent and the other Jewish, were rushed to Mt Sinai-St Luke’s Hospital. Fortunately, both are expected to recover, informed Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
In a dramatic turn, Morales was located in a nearby apartment building, thanks to a ‘good Samaritan’ who directed officers to his hiding spot just blocks away from the assaults.
Investigators are currently piecing together the motivation behind the attacks. Eyewitnesses recall Morales shouting ‘Allahu Akbar,’ prompting authorities to consider if hate crime charges are warranted, Tisch communicated via social media.
Mental health may have also played a factor in the attack, Tisch said, adding that investigators have not yet found a ‘link between Morales and either of the victims, nor between the victims and each other.’
As the investigation into the stabbings now continues, Mayor Zohran Mamdani asserted: ‘These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city.’
He said he had been briefed on the incident and was ‘relieved that both victims are in stable condition’ as well as ‘grateful to the officers for their swift response.’
New York City police are pictured responding to the scene of the stabbing attack in New York City’s Upper West Side on Thursday
Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit investigate the scene of a stabbing attack on Thursday
The attack allegedly began when Morales jumped the first victim, a 57-year-old Asian man, near West 84th Street and Central Park West and stabbed him in the back at around 1.30pm, according to the New York Post.
The second victim, a 50-year-old man wearing a yarmulke, was then attacked after leaving a synagogue at Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street – and was said to have been stabbed in the torso with a screwdriver.
Morales then allegedly barricaded himself inside a New York City Housing Authority apartment a few blocks away, but was arrested at around 2.45pm.
Nava Silton, who had been speaking with the second victim inside the Jewish Center ahead of the attack, described how Morales ‘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.’
She also said the victim told her how ‘someone drew a screwdriver into the right side of my chest.’
‘It was serious, but he’s speaking and he’s conscious,’ she told the Post, calling the victim ‘an incredible person’ who had been leaving Tisha B’av services when he was attacked.
Marianna Ellenberg also recounted how she saw the wife of the first victim watch in horror as her husband was randomly knifed in the back.
Authorities arrested Raul Morales, 51, in connection with the attack at a nearby apartment building
‘We saw her covering her mouth. She was just scared,’ Ellenberg said. ‘Like it was a surreal image because it was a bright, sunny 1.30pm, Upper West Side, Central Park West day and there was just this cry.’
Morris Dahan, a member of Manhattan Shomrim, a volunteer civilian watch group in Orthodox Jewish communities, also said it was ‘unbelievable’ how cops managed to pull Morales out of the apartment building.
‘He was inside of an apartment and they went in there, 50, 60 cops with dogs, canine, sledgehammers, whatever they need to break in to doors. And sure enough, 15 minutes later, they came out with him.’
Charges were not immediately filed against Morales, who allegedly suffers from mental health issues and has at least two prior arrests – both for drug possession in 1991.
He had reportedly been seen about half an hour after officers responded to the first stabbing walking erratically and shouting incoherently – including yelling the word ‘Islam.’
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared on social media that ‘These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city’
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.