Knife-wielding maniac arrested for stabbing two people outside NYC synagogue while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' as Mamdani blasts 'hateful' attack

Published: 01:08, 24 July 2026 | Updated: 01:29, 24 July 2026 A New York City man is in custody after he allegedly stabbed two men outside a synagogue while yelling 'Allahu Akbar.' Raul Morales, 51, was apprehended for the attack on Thursday afternoon shortly after police said he stabbed a 57-year-old man in the torso at around 1.30pm then struck a 50-year-old man outside an Orthodox synagogue near Central Park. Both victims, an unidentified Asian man and a Jewish man, were then transported to Mt Sinai-St Luke's Hospital, where they are expected to survive, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Meanwhile, Morales was taken into custody at an apartment building a couple of blocks away from the scene of the stabbing spree after Tisch said a 'good Samaritan' led officers to where he was hiding.  Detectives are still working to determine a motive for the attack, but according to victim and witness statements, 'Morales yelled "Allahu Akbar" during both attacks,' and officers are now investigating 'whether this is a potential hate crime,' Tisch wrote on social media. Mental health may have also played a factor in the attack, Tisch said, adding that investigators have not yet found a 'link between Morales and either of the victims, nor between the victims and each other.' As the investigation into the stabbings now continues, Mayor Zohran Mamdani asserted: 'These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city.' He said he had been briefed on the incident and was 'relieved that both victims are in stable condition' as well as 'grateful to the officers for their swift response.' New York City police are pictured responding to the scene of the stabbing attack in New York City's Upper West Side on Thursday Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit investigate the scene of a stabbing attack on Thursday The attack allegedly began when Morales jumped the first victim, a 57-year-old Asian man, near West 84th Street and Central Park West and stabbed him in the back at around 1.30pm, according to the New York Post. The second victim, a 50-year-old man wearing a yarmulke, was then attacked after leaving a synagogue at Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street - and was said to have been stabbed in the torso with a screwdriver. Morales then allegedly barricaded himself inside a New York City Housing Authority apartment a few blocks away, but was arrested at around 2.45pm. This is a breaking news story and will be updated.