NEW YORK (AP) — A suspect in two stabbings on New York City streets was arrested Friday on attempted murder and other charges, including hate crime charges relating to one of the victims, a Jewish man, police said.
Raul Morales, 51, allegedly yelled the Arabic phrase “Allahu akbar” while attacking two men separately Thursday on Manhattan's Upper West Side, according to police accounts of what witnesses told them.
Police had no immediate comment Friday on how they decided that hate crime laws pertained to the Jewish victim but not the other, who is of Asian descent. Morales was awaiting arraignment, and prosecutors ultimately will decide what charges he faces in court.
As Morales was led out of a police station Friday evening, he shouted about seeking justice for someone. When reporters asked about the stabbings, he responded that he was “gonna talk about it” as he was ushered into a police car.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Morales has an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
The stabbings happened about two blocks apart Thursday afternoon, police said. Both victims were taken to a hospital and were expected to survive. They were in stable condition Friday, state Attorney General Letitia James said at a morning news conference with other officials and community leaders.
The Jewish victim was attacked just after leaving a nearby synagogue, called the Jewish Center, Rabbi Yosie Levine said.
“He was just trying to pray at his synagogue, and now we’re the ones praying for his recovery,” Levine said.
The Asian American Foundation, a New York-based advocacy group, said in a statement the attacks “underscore the persistent safety challenges” and mistreatment — from harassment to physical assault — facing Asian Americans in the city.
“We demand continued, meaningful investment in community safety and hate prevention that protects everyone,” the group said in a statement.
Hate crimes in New York City have been on the rise in recent years, while overall violent crime rates have dropped, according to police data. Tisch said in April that more than half of all confirmed hate crimes in the city so far this year targeted Jewish people. Estimates of the size of the city's Jewish community vary, but it's far less than half the overall population.
“We are undeniably being disproportionately targeted, again and again and again,” City Comptroller Mark Levine said at the Friday morning news conference, where he also told Asian Americans: “We stand in outrage with you.”
James and Levine are Democrats.
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