A man who appears to be Muslim randomly stabbed two people, one of them Jewish, during separate attacks Thursday afternoon in New York City.
The attacker, identified as 51-year-old Raul Morales, yelled “Allahu Akbar” as he committed both attacks, according to victim and witness statements made to the New York Police Department (NYPD).
As a result, the NYPD is now “evaluating whether this is a potential hate crime,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced in a tweet.
Tisch also stressed, however, that the department is considering whether “mental health may have been a factor.”
This afternoon, two people were stabbed in separate attacks on the Upper West Side. Both victims — an Asian male and a Jewish male — were removed to Mt. Sinai-St. Luke’s Hospital, and both are expected to survive.
The NYPD has arrested 51-year-old Raul Morales in connection…
— Jessica S. Tisch (@NYPDPC) July 23, 2026
Both victims survived.
“A 57-year-old man was reportedly attacked near West 84th Street and Central Park West just after 1:30 p.m.,” according to Fox News. “Officials said officers found him conscious and alert with a stab wound to his back. He was taken to a local hospital in stable condition.”
“Investigators later found a 50-year-old man nearby with a stab wound to his torso. He was also conscious and alert and was taken to a hospital in stable condition,” the reporting continued.
Police identify 51-year-old Raul Morales as the suspect in the stabbing of an Asian man and a Jewish man on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. pic.twitter.com/CGRofbnD9D
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 23, 2026
Following the attacks, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin immediately issued a statement decrying the “antisemitic stabbing.”
“While we await additional details to be confirmed, we know that what is happening in our city is abhorrent,” she wrote on social media. “The fear in the Jewish community is real. Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood, regardless of their faith or identity.”
Roughly an hour later at 5:49 pm, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued her own statement decrying “what appears to be another senseless attack on New Yorkers simply because they’re Jewish.”
Another hour later, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani finally issued a statement of his own:
I have been briefed on today’s horrifying stabbings on the Upper West Side, where an Asian man and a Jewish man were attacked. According to witness and victim statements, the perpetrator yelled “Allahu Akbar” during both attacks. I am relieved that both victims are in stable… https://t.co/0LSGtvPojx
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) July 23, 2026
To his credit, the Muslim mayor made it a point to mention that Morales had yelled “Allahu Akbar” during both attacks. However, he too brought up “mental health.”
“The NYPD’s initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor,” he wrote. “They are also evaluating these stabbings as potential hate crimes. These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city.”
The focus on mental health annoyed some critics.
Not a mental health crisis, it’s your rhetoric and it’s Islam the religion of hate
— Laura Annunziata (@LauraAnnun34747) July 24, 2026
Do you think the +50,000 Islamic terrorist attacks, since 9/11 alone, were carried out by Muslims with mental health problems ?
— John Croy (@Croyman99) July 24, 2026
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded to the attacks by pointing the finger at Mamdani.
“I am appalled by the horrific antisemitic stabbing attack in New York,” he wrote in a tweet. “Appalled but sadly not surprised. This violence did not happen in a vacuum. Months of incitement against the Jewish state from Mamdani have helped create a climate in which Jews are targeted.”
“Words have consequences. Mamdani must end the incitement, confront antisemitism with resolve, and act now to protect the city’s Jewish community,” he added.
I am appalled by the horrific antisemitic stabbing attack in New York.
Appalled but sadly not surprised.This violence did not happen in a vacuum. Months of incitement against the Jewish state from Mamdani have helped create a climate in which Jews are targeted.
Words have…
— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) July 23, 2026
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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