The NYPD is investigating whether the stabbings of the two men is a hate crime but says mental illness may have played a role.
A man accused of stabbing two people near Manhattan’s Central Park on Thursday reportedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” during the attacks, the city’s police commissioner said.
The stabbings on the Upper West Side occurred at around 1:31 p.m. and both victims, who are adult men, were stable at a hospital and expected to survive, the New York City Police Department said.
Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, 50, was stabbed in the torso with the screwdriver while Chok Sung, 57, was stabbed in the back with a knife in the unprovoked attack, officers said.
Raul Morales, 51, was arrested, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement on X.
“Detectives are continuing to work the case and determine motive, but according to victim and witness statements, Morales yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ during both attacks,” she said in the statement. “The NYPD is currently evaluating whether this is a potential hate crime. One of the victims is Asian and the other is Jewish, “
Tisch also said that while Morales does not have a known mental health history with police, “the initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor.”
Volunteers with the Jewish civilian neighborhood watch group Shomrim said they responded to a call to their hotline and arrived to the scene after one of the stabbings.
The victim they saw was wearing a yarmulke, the skullcap traditionally worn by many Jewish men, and was either on his way to or returning from synagogue, Shomrim volunteer Michael Jacobs told CNN.
“He’s a respected person in the neighborhood, minding his own business, just going to pray,” Jacobs said, noting the attack occurred on Tisha B’Av, a Jewish day of mourning and fasting.
Kathy Hochul, the New York governor, said she had been disgusted by Thursday’s attacks and emphasised that New York stood with its Jewish and Asian communities. “Asian New Yorkers, like Jewish New Yorkers, have endured waves of hate-fuelled violence in recent years,” she said in a post on X. “Hate rarely stops with one group. New York will continue confronting it wherever it appears.”
