Updated

Updated · WABC-TV · Jul 24

Raul Morales Faces Charges in 2 Upper West Side Stabbings as Leaders Seek Hate Crime Case

Updated

Updated · WABC-TV · Jul 24

Raul Morales Faces Charges in 2 Upper West Side Stabbings as Leaders Seek Hate Crime Case

Q: How did a quick-thinking bystander help police capture the suspect who stabbed two men on the Upper West Side?

A quick-thinking bystander helped police by leading officers to the suspect’s hiding place after the two stabbings. According to police and later reporting, Raul Morales fled the scenes and barricaded himself inside an apartment building on the Upper West Side. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said a “good Samaritan” directed officers to where Morales was hiding, allowing police to quickly surround the location and take him into custody. That tip appears to have been critical because the attacks happened within minutes of each other and police were trying to stop the suspect before anyone else was hurt. Officers then found Morales barricaded in the building, and he eventually surrendered. Police credited the bystander’s help and the rapid response with preventing further injuries.

3 articles · Updated · WABC-TV · Jul 24

51-year-old Raul Morales was in custody Friday and expected to be charged after two men were stabbed minutes apart on Manhattan's Upper West Side, with both victims expected to recover.
Police said a 57-year-old Asian man was stabbed in the back near Central Park West and West 84th Street around 1:30 p.m., and a 50-year-old Jewish man was attacked near West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, close to a synagogue.
Investigators said Morales allegedly used a blade and a screwdriver, while the NYPD's initial investigation suggested mental health may have been a factor in the attacks.
Jewish leaders, elected officials and Attorney General Letitia James pressed Manhattan prosecutors to consider hate crime charges, saying the assaults shook both Jewish and Asian communities.
Mayor Mamdani condemned the attacks as hateful violence but also defended his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, rejecting any link between that stance and hostility toward Jews.