By Gus Saltonstall
Raul Morales has been indicted for attempted murder and assault as a hate crime in connection with stabbing two men in July on the Upper West Side, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Tuesday.
“As alleged, Raul Morales violently assaulted two innocent New Yorkers for no other reason than his belief they were Jewish,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, in a news release. “The members of the NYPD responded quickly, identified the suspect, and took him into custody that same afternoon. That is what the NYPD has done, and will continue to do, in response to antisemitic hate crimes and hate crimes of any kind: respond immediately, conduct a thorough investigation, and pursue complete accountability under the law.”
Around 1:30 p.m. on July 23, Morales allegedly approached a 57-year-old Asian man from behind on West 84th Street and Central Park West, and stabbed him, unprovoked, in the back with a knife, according to court documents and the District Attorney’s Office.
He also yelled “Allahu Akbar” during the attack, before fleeing the street, the DA added. Morales proceeded to walk past a synagogue on West 83rd Street and Central Park West and yelled, “Justice for Islam,” the DA’s Office said.
Then, at 1:43 p.m., 13 minutes after his first attack, he walked up to a 50-year-old Jewish man wearing a kippah, near a second synagogue at West 86th street and Amsterdam Avenue, and stabbed him in the chest with a screwdriver, according to the DA’S office.
A witness to the attack told Bragg’s office that he followed Morales as he fled to an apartment building near West 89th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, and heard him allegedly yell once more, “Allahu Akbar.”
The two victims were both rushed to nearby hospitals, where the first man arrived with the knife still lodged in his back, needing surgery to remove it, the DA’s office said. Both victims survived the attacks, police confirmed.
The DA’s office also said that during its investigation it “uncovered additional evidence illustrating alleged antisemitic bias,” specifically within Morales’ text messages recovered from his phone.
Morales, 51, was specifically charged with attempted murder in the second degree as a hate crime, assault in the first degree as a hate crime, attempted assault in the first degree as a hate crime, and assault in the second degree as a hate crime, according to the DA’s office.
“Raul Morales was allegedly motivated by antisemitism when he attacked two New Yorkers in broad daylight near two Upper West Side synagogues,” Bragg said in a news release. “Since the initial arrest, my Office has continued to thoroughly investigate this matter and uncovered additional evidence alleging the defendant specifically harbors antisemitic views.”
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His attack on an asian man was motivated by anti-semitism?
If one harms another because they believe that person is Jewish, then whether the victim actually is or is not actually Jewish does not change the fact that the crime was an antisemitic attack. The intent is what matters in a hate crime.
According to other articles, yes. Whether the man does in fact identify as Jewish himself is unclear.
Yes- he thought he was Jewish (from behind).
He stabbed the Asian man from behind. It said he “believed” that they were Jewish.
Again – not a huge fan of Bragg and Mamdani but seems like they are handling this well so credit where it is due. Hopefully they seek the max sentence. Keep these people off the street. And note that the hate crime part of it is only icing on the cake – these types of crimes in general need to be dealt with aggressively – people shouldn’t be going around stabbing others. Really not that hard.
How exactly is Mamdani “handling this?” Mamdani has nothing to do with how Bragg is charging him. In fact, most Jews will agree that Mamdani’s words are leading to this kind of behavior. He needs to tone down his rhetoric and focus on actually running the city.
Please don’t say, “most Jews.” That almost certainly isn’t accurate…and it certainly isn’t fact-based.
That’s ludicrous — because there is NO reason anyone should tone anything down, and as silly as a Hispanic man calling an Asian man from behind “Jewish” and as absurd as screaming “Allahu Akbar” as if the guy had any idea what he was even saying, and for what? Chances are his defense lawyer will claim he was crazy, and it sounds to me like he was and still is and most likely has been for years and was looking for some way to act out his anger. The guy most likely can’t point out any other nation on a map. All of these stabbing fools need to be locked into mental institutions for the criminally insane. Something has to be done about all of this.
oh and he also had Anti-Semitic statements discovered on his phone and in texts. I don’t think it is silly at all, it is scary that this hate is motivating violence. I agree with you on one thing though–these people should be locked up!
I’m Jewish and I don’t for a moment think Mamdani has anything to do with this. I think the perpetrator is crazy.
You don’t think a mayors response to a hate crime matters? Or whether he criticizes an entire group of people can possibly lead to backlash? That would mean you think the mayors words are fully meaningless no?
You do not speak for “most Jews” and it is not a fact. Mamdani has been an excellent mayor so far and is not inciting anti-Semitic attacks.
Well if you say so! Sounds like other people have opinions but what you say is fact.
I don’t believe Mamdani is doing anything to encourage violent behavior. We need to hold indivuduals accountable for their actions, not look for a scapegoat.
Hey there Billy Bob. Mamdani doesn’t think Hamas should disarm. If he stayed that Africa didn’t have a right to exist do you think it just might trickle down to how we treat black people? IM JEWISH and I feel unsupported and attacked by him. Last I checked the minority group being targeted got to say when they feel targeted rather than non members of that group right? Or do I need approval to validate my feelings and observations. If people are denying mandanis thought out targeted incitement of invalidation of the Jewish community then they are willingly ignoring it because it’s in our faces. Why is a NEW YORK mayor so obsessed with Israel when we have chaos and a racist president in our country right now. Not to mention local issues.
And yet a group of prominent NYC rabbis met with the Mayor and told him he was doing exactly what I said. But hey, sorry if I upset any “As-a-Jew” on here.
I heard a great sermon a couple of years ago where the rabbi discussed the fourth tier of the fight or flight complex – fight, flight, freeze, or FAWN. Fawning is where, in the interest of self preservation, you self-deprecatingly agree with your opponents. Amazing how the human psyche works.
Special.
Why bother to lock this guy up? Try him and sentence him to life (without parole) in jail! What a great system we have when even a hopeless, dangerous waste of time like this guy will get a fair (and expensive) trial if he wants it…
lol … what’s all this “right to a fair trial” malarkey?
I’m glad you have such respect and regard for our system of justice, which, after all, is one of the chief underpinnings of our democracy and essential to entire way of life. (Did you ignore social studies in elementary school, Junior High School and High School?)
That’s how totalitarian governments and absolute monarchies work. In a democratic and just society, everyone gets (or is supposed to get) a fair and open trial. We don’t have thugs killing innocent people on the streets or locking up people because of their beliefs or their words or the color of their skin… oh, wait, yes, we do.
Never mind. Carry on. We’re good with extrajudicial killings, imprisonment, and torture.
So you believe an accusation is sufficient cause to move right to sentencing? Since when?
I hope this hateful man is put away for life without parole in the Rikers Island complex where he and his bigotry can rot.
On amsterdam & 86 st is the west park Presbyterian church. But where is synagogue? Does NYP’s mean Hewish Cecnter between amstv& Columbus? Why confuse the issue? All are clearly marked?
I take it to read: he stabbed a man at 86th and Amsterdam, which was near another synagogue. The Jewish Center is near 86th and Amsterdam. So if he stabbed the victim at 86th and Amsterdam, he did it near a synagogue.
Stop with the antisemitism the other victim was Asian!!!!
Yes. There were TWO victims. One was Jewish and the attack was targeted at him because he was Jewish. So we aren’t going to stop with “the antisemitism” because thats’ what it was for one of the victims. No one heard him make an anti-Asian remark but he could have. But he did say Allahu Akbar and “Justice for Islam!” so maybe he thought the Asian man was Jewish. What are you so upset about? The police also discovered anti semitic statements on his phone and texts.
So we should stop calling it antisemitism because it was only attempted antisemitism? Since the attacker was wrong, the guy he thought was Jewish was actually Asian, it was not antisemitism? That’s a new way to look at things. So if police arrest a man for killing a woman, and the reason he killed her was because he thought she was African American, but she was actually Dominican, and the killer didn’t have anything against Dominicans, that wouldn’t be racially inspired murder? Just what, negligence?