Central Park stabbing probed as potential hate crime, NYPD says
NYPD says two men are expected to survive after Upper West Side stabbings now being reviewed as possible hate crimes.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
3 min read
The NYPD is investigating whether a Central Park stabbing hate crime occurred after two adult men were stabbed Thursday afternoon on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Raul Morales, 51, was arrested in connection with the attacks, Tisch said in a statement on X. The two victims were taken to a hospital in stable condition and were expected to survive, the New York Police Department said.
The stabbings happened around 1:31 p.m. near Central Park West, police said. According to the NYPD, the attacks took place about two blocks apart: one at 84th Street and Central Park West, and another at 86th Street and Central Park West.
Was the Central Park stabbing a hate crime?
Tisch said detectives were still working to determine a motive. Based on statements from victims and witnesses, she said, Morales allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” during both attacks.
The NYPD is reviewing whether the case should be treated as a potential hate crime, Tisch said. A hate crime investigation looks at whether a victim was targeted because of a protected characteristic, such as religion, race or ethnicity.
Tisch said one victim is Asian and the other is Jewish. Police have not said that investigators have reached a conclusion about why the men were attacked.
The commissioner also said the early investigation suggests mental health may have played a role. She added that Morales did not have a known mental health history with police.
No statement from Morales was reported in the police and city statements described publicly Thursday.
What police say happened after the attacks
A bystander helped officers find Morales after the stabbings, Tisch said. She described the bystander as a good Samaritan who led police to the place where Morales was hiding.
Tisch said investigators had found no evidence that the two victims knew each other or knew Morales.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he had been briefed on the case. In a statement on X, he said he was grateful that the victims were stable and thanked the officers involved in the response.
Mamdani said the NYPD’s first findings indicated that mental health may have been a factor and that police were also evaluating the stabbings as potential hate crimes. He called the attacks hateful and despicable and said they had no place in New York City.
Gov. Kathy Hochul also condemned the attack. In her statement, she said New York’s strength has long come from people living together across different faiths and backgrounds.
The investigation remains active, according to Tisch, as detectives continue working through witness accounts and the question of motive.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.