NYC Man Charged With Hate Crimes in Upper West Side Double Stabbing

A 51-year-old New York City man faces attempted murder and hate crime charges after he allegedly stabbed two men in back-to-back attacks on Manhattan's Upper West Side Thursday afternoon, police said.

Raul Morales was taken into custody Thursday and formally charged Friday. In connection with the attack on Moshe Grunhaus, a 50-year-old Jewish man, Morales faces attempted murder and assault, both carrying hate crime enhancements. Grunhaus had just walked out of The Jewish Center on West 86th Street when Morales allegedly plunged a screwdriver into his chest. In a separate incident, Morales was charged with attempted murder — without a hate crime designation — in the stabbing of Chok Sung, 57, an Asian man who was standing on the sidewalk near Central Park West and West 84th Street when he was struck from behind. Both victims were transported to nearby hospitals and were listed in stable condition, police said.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said witness and victim accounts indicate Morales shouted "Allahu Akbar" during both attacks. Investigators said there was no known prior relationship between Morales and either victim, nor between the two victims themselves. Tisch said mental health "may have been a factor" in the attacks, though Morales has no documented mental health history with the NYPD.

City officials gathered at a press conference Friday to speak out against the violence. City Comptroller Mark Levine named the victims publicly and described Grunhaus emerging from his synagogue at the moment he was attacked. New York Attorney General Letitia James said she had spoken directly with both the police commissioner and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg about the case and called for full prosecution.

State Assembly Member Micah Lasher, who represents the Upper West Side district, said he too had been in touch with investigators. During a perp walk outside the 20th Precinct on Friday, Morales was heard shouting phrases related to seeking justice for a family; police did not immediately clarify the meaning or significance of the outburst.