NEW YORK — A man accused of stabbing two strangers on the Upper West Side was arrested and charged with hate crimes for attacking a Jewish man but not an Asian man he assaulted minutes earlier, police said Friday. Raul Morales, 51, allegedly screamed "Allahu Akbar" during both attacks Thursday afternoon. Both victims were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Morales faces attempted murder and assault charges as hate crimes in the stabbing of Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, 50, who had just left synagogue services. He received identical charges for stabbing a 57-year-old Asian man at a nearby location, though those charges were not elevated to hate crimes. Community leaders and elected officials gathered near The Jewish Center, where the second attack occurred, expressing concerns about antisemitic motivation.
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