On a July afternoon in one of New York City's quieter residential neighborhoods, two men were stabbed in separate attacks within minutes of each other, their apparent differences in ethnicity and faith raising immediate questions about whether hatred had found its way into the daylight hours near Central Park. A 51-year-old man, Raul Morales, was taken into custody shortly after the assaults, leaving investigators to untangle the threads of motive — bias, mental illness, or both — that so often resist easy separation. Both victims are expected to survive, but the incident reminds a city and a
Man Arrested After Stabbing Two People on Upper West Side in Possible Hate Crimes
Two men stabbed and wounded in separate attacks; both expected to survive but sustained injuries requiring medical attention.
He attacked two strangers in minutes, in broad daylight, shouting a religious phrase
Mark
Why would someone attack two people from different communities and shout a religious phrase? That seems contradictory if it's a hate crime.
Mimi
That's the puzzle investigators are working through. The phrase he used, combined with the targeting of an Asian man and a Jewish man, suggests possible bias motivation. But the fact that the victims belong to different groups complicates the narrative—it could mean he was attacking based on something else entirely, or that his thinking didn't follow a coherent ideological line.
Mark
What about his background? Did he have any history that might explain this?
Mimi
No documented mental health history with the police, which is notable. That's often one of the first things investigators look for. But Commissioner Tisch said his mental state appeared to be a factor, which suggests something may have been wrong even if it wasn't formally recorded.
Mark
Both victims survived. Does that change how serious this is?
Mimi
It changes the charges he might face, but not the investigation's urgency. The fact that he attacked two people in broad daylight in a safe neighborhood, with witnesses around, suggests either desperation or a complete disregard for consequences. That's worth understanding either way.
Mark
What happens next in the investigation?
Mimi
They're still determining motive. That word—whether this was a hate crime or something else—will shape how the case proceeds legally and how the community understands what happened.
The Pulse
- Two men were stabbed in broad daylight on the Upper West Side within minutes of each other, shattering the midday calm of a neighborhood unaccustomed to street violence.
- The suspect shouted 'Allahu akbar' during both attacks, and the victims — one Asian, one Jewish — belong to distinct communities, immediately raising the specter of targeted, bias-driven violence.
- Police moved swiftly and arrested Raul Morales shortly after the second stabbing, but the question of what truly motivated him remains unresolved and legally consequential.
- Investigators are weighing hate crime charges while also considering the suspect's mental state, a combination that complicates both prosecution and public understanding of the attacks.
- Both victims are expected to recover physically, but the incident has unsettled a community that had long regarded its streets as relatively safe.
On a July afternoon in one of New York City's quieter residential neighborhoods, two men were stabbed in separate attacks within minutes of each other, their apparent differences in ethnicity and faith raising immediate questions about whether hatred had found its way into the daylight hours near Central Park. A 51-year-old man, Raul Morales, was taken into custody shortly after the assaults, leaving investigators to untangle the threads of motive — bias, mental illness, or both — that so often resist easy separation. Both victims are expected to survive, but the incident reminds a city and a civilization that violence does not always announce itself, and that the streets we believe we know can become, without warning, the stage for something darker.
On a Thursday afternoon in July, Raul Morales, 51, moved through the Upper West Side and stabbed two strangers in separate attacks within minutes of each other. The first victim, a 57-year-old Asian man named Chok Sung, was stabbed in the back on West 84th Street near Central Park West. Minutes later, two blocks away, Morales stabbed Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus — a 50-year-old Jewish man — in the torso with a screwdriver. Both men were wounded but are expected to survive.
What deepened the alarm was what witnesses heard: Morales reportedly shouted 'Allahu akbar' during both attacks. Combined with the fact that his victims came from different ethnic and religious communities, the phrase prompted police to open a hate crime investigation. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed the inquiry while also noting that Morales's mental state may have been a factor — a detail that complicates, without dismissing, the possibility of bias as a motive.
The Upper West Side's relative tranquility made the midday violence especially jarring for residents. Morales was apprehended shortly after the second attack. As detectives continue their work, the central question — whether these stabbings were acts of hatred, the expression of a fractured mind, or some entanglement of both — remains unanswered, and the two men who were attacked are left to reckon with an ordinary afternoon that turned suddenly, and violently, otherwise.
On a Thursday afternoon in July, the Upper West Side—a neighborhood known for its relative safety and tree-lined streets bordering Central Park—became the site of two separate knife attacks within minutes of each other. A 51-year-old man named Raul Morales walked through the neighborhood around 1:30 p.m. and stabbed two strangers in what police are now investigating as possible hate crimes.
The first attack happened on West 84th Street near Central Park West. Morales approached a 57-year-old Asian man named Chok Sung from behind and stabbed him in the back with a knife. Minutes later, two blocks away on West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, Morales encountered another man—Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, 50 years old and Jewish—and stabbed him in the torso with a screwdriver. Both men were wounded but expected to survive.
What made these attacks particularly alarming was not just their brazenness in daylight, but what witnesses and the victims themselves reported hearing. According to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Morales shouted "Allahu akbar" as he attacked both men. The phrase, combined with the fact that the two victims appeared to belong to different religious and ethnic communities, immediately raised questions about whether the attacks were motivated by bias.
The Upper West Side is a densely populated residential area where such violence is uncommon. The neighborhood's relative tranquility made the midday assaults especially jarring for residents and raised immediate concerns about safety in a part of the city that had not been accustomed to this kind of street crime. Police moved quickly to apprehend Morales, and he was taken into custody shortly after the second attack.
The investigation into Morales's motive is still unfolding. While he has no documented history of mental health issues in police records, Commissioner Tisch indicated that his mental state may have been a factor in the attacks. The department is carefully evaluating whether the stabbings constitute hate crimes—a determination that depends on establishing whether Morales deliberately targeted these men because of their race or religion, or whether other factors were at play. The fact that he attacked people from two different communities complicates the picture, though it does not rule out a bias motivation.
For Sung and Grunhaus, the afternoon that began like any other ended with injuries and the knowledge that they were attacked by a stranger in broad daylight. For the neighborhood, the incident served as a reminder that violence can erupt unexpectedly, even in places that feel safe. As detectives continue their work, the question of what drove Morales to attack these two men—and whether his actions were rooted in hatred, mental illness, or some combination of both—remains open.
Notable Quotes
Morales shouted 'Allahu akbar' as he attacked both men, according to accounts from victims and witnesses— Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch
His mental state might have played a role in the attacks, though he had no documented history of mental health issues with the department— Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch
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Crime & Justice