Man accused of stabbing two men in an antisemitic attacks in New York charged with hate crime

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced hate crime charges against 51-year-old Raul Morales on Tuesday in connection with two unprovoked daytime stabbings near Upper West Side synagogues. According to prosecutors, the attacks occurred in broad daylight on July 23, with Morales allegedly targeting a 57-year-old man near West 84th Street and Central Park West, and later a 50-year-old Jewish man wearing a kippah near West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

Both victims survived the assaults, requiring emergency medical attention in separate incidents. Police found Morales at his nearby apartment, where he surrendered. Text messages on his phone revealed explicit antisemitic sentiments, supporting the bias motive behind the assaults. Bragg stated that Morales was motivated by antisemitism in his violent actions, describing the case as a prime example of how hate crimes make communities less safe.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch emphasized that the department responded swiftly and would continue to combat hate crimes of any kind. Morales faces a multi-count indictment, including charges of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, attempted assault in the first degree, and assault in the second degree, all as hate crimes.