A suspect is in custody after two people were stabbed in broad daylight in Manhattan's residential Upper West Side neighborhood on Thursday, authorities said.
The suspect yelled "Allahu Akbar" during both attacks, according to the victims and witnesses, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. The NYPD is currently evaluating whether this is a potential hate crime, she said.
The first victim, a 57-year-old Asian man, was stabbed in the torso near West 84th Street and Central Park West, according to police.
The second victim, a 50-year-old Jewish man, had just stepped outside a synagogue near West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue when he was stabbed in the chest with a screwdriver, officials said.
Both victims were taken to the hospital in stable condition and are expected to survive, according to Tisch.
The suspect, 51-year-old Raul Morales, was arrested in connection with both assaults, Tisch said. He was taken into custody on the Upper West Side, near West 88th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, police said. No one else is being sought in the attacks, according to Tisch.
At this time, there is no known link between Morales and either of the victims, nor between the victims and each other, according to Tisch.
A motive remains under investigation.
The initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor, the commissioner said. The suspect has no known mental health history with the NYPD, police said.
While the investigation so far indicates "mental health was a factor," investigators are "also evaluating to see whether either of these constitute hate crimes," New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
"When it comes to the questions of hate crimes, we have to make very clear that there is no tolerance for hate in this city,” Mamdani said. "Whether it is hatred of a person for their faith, for their background, for their national origins, we do not accept it in this city, and we will hold anyone who perpetrates it accountable."