Raul Morales, 51, was arraigned late Friday on two counts of second-degree attempted murder as a hate crime; one count of assault in the first degree as a hate crime; one count of assault in the second degree as a hate crime; and one count of attempted assault in the first degree as a hate crime, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said.
Chok Sung, 57, and Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, 50, were stabbed around 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the vicinity of West 84th Street and Central Park West, police said.
Morales first approached a 57-year-old Asian man from behind and shouted “Allahu Akbar” and stabbed him in the back with a knife, a prosecutor said at his late Friday arraignment, according to the district attorney’s office.
Morales then continued walking and encountered a Jewish man wearing a kippah, a Jewish head covering, who had just left a synagogue, and stabbed him in the chest with a screwdriver, the prosecutor said in court, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Moments after both attacks, police apprehended Morales at an apartment building.
A witness saw Morales flee the scene before following him and ultimately leading police to the apartment where he was staying, which was five blocks from the synagogue, according to prosecutors and the criminal complaint.
After officers spent 50 minutes trying to get Morales to come out of his apartment, he finally agreed to surrender, prosecutors said.
In the courtroom, Morales made an unexpected outburst.
After all the charges were read by the judge, he looked into the crowd inside the courtroom and said, “I love you, mama.”
Morales’ mother said she had no comment.
During a perp walk to central booking, Morales shouted cryptic statements to reporters.
It is unclear who the woman is, and what the possible significance is of the remarks.
Police said both victims survived and were expected to recover.
The Asian man who was stabbed was taken to the hospital with the knife still in his back and underwent surgery Friday morning, the prosecutor said at Friday’s arraignment, according to the district attorney’s office.
A friend of the Jewish victim spoke about his condition while hospitalized.
“He’s doing OK. He’s speaking. Thank God he’s speaking. He’s conscious. He’s stable. They’re just monitoring things to make sure things didn’t get worse,” said Dr. Nava Silton, the 50-year-old victim’s friend.
Silton also told an outlet, “I spoke to direct eyewitnesses who said that this man had yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ and had taken a screwdriver and stabbed him directly in the chest… then the guy walked away and kind of pretended he was not culpable and said ‘maybe someone should call 911, it looks like someone’s hurt on the street.'”
An eyewitness to the second attack described what he saw.
Juan Garcia, a local restaurant worker, watched as the stabber attacked the second victim. “He was a Jewish guy with a yarmulke,” Garcia, 26, said. “He was on his knees. He was bleeding from the right side. The screwdriver was on the floor.”
Morales was remanded in custody without bail.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the attacks in a statement.
“I am thankful that [Morales] is being held accountable and hope he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This kind of despicable violence is not who we are as a city. Every New Yorker deserves to be safe, regardless of their religion or race. Our administration will always stand against bigotry and do everything in our power to root out antisemitism, racism, and hateful acts of all kinds.”
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch praised the witness who led officers to Morales.
“I want to commend the bravery of a good Samaritan who led our officers to the location where the perpetrator was hiding, as well as our NYPD cops who brought an end to the incident without further injuries,” Tisch wrote on X.
There is no evidence that either victim knew each other or Morales, Tisch said Thursday.
Police said mental health may have played a role.
Authorities said Morales does not have a history of mental illness, but the investigation suggests mental health played a role in the attacks.
Police say Morales’ prior criminal history includes two open drug arrests in 1991 and five sealed arrests.
Police executed a search warrant at his apartment after his arrest.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant there Friday, and investigators were seen carrying out a laptop and a bag of books, including the Quran and a book about Che Guevara. It’s not clear if the items belong to Morales.
In the viral moment that sparked this case,
the first attack took place near West 84th Street and Central Park West, when the attacker stabbed Sung, an Asian man, in the torso with a knife. The suspect then walked toward Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street and stabbed Grunhaus, a Jewish man, with a screwdriver. Shortly before the attack, Grunhaus had been at the nearby Jewish Center on West 86th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus, for Tisha B’Av, the Jewish day of mourning.
Raul Morales, 51, is charged with attempted murder (hate crime), attempted murder, assault (hate crime), two additional counts of assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. Morales yelled “Allahu Akbar” during both attacks, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch wrote in a message on social media, while citing victims and witness statements.
Morales, who lives on Columbus Avenue near West 93rd Street, is due next in court on July 30.