Upper West Side stabbing probed as hate crime after Allahu Akbar shout

Eyewitnesses described moments surrounding a double stabbing in New York City being investigated as a possible hate crime; one of them described the scene as “the scariest thing” he had ever seen.

The suspect, identified as Raul Morales, 51, is accused of shouting “Allahu Akbar” while stabbing two men on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Thursday afternoon, according to authorities.

The NYPD is investigating whether bias played a role in the attacks. Police said one of the victims was Jewish and the other was Asian.

Police said the stabbings appeared to be separate attacks that occurred in close proximity to each other. There is no known connection between Morales and the victims or between the two victims, authorities said.

THE SUSPECT, WHO ALLEGEDLY STABBED 2 PEOPLE DURING THE NYC ATTACK, WAS ARRESTED IN ‘ALLAHU AKBAR’ BUTTERS

Both men were taken to hospital in stable condition.

Authorities are investigating whether a knife or screwdriver was used in the attacks.

An eyewitness described seeing a knife sticking out of one of the victims after the stabbing.

“I saw him sitting on his knees, not moving at all, with a knife sticking out. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. The guys working in the building were amazing and they just ran to get help,” the witness told Fox 5 New York.

Another woman, who said she was friends with one of the victims, said she heard someone had been stabbed while she was in the synagogue. When he arrived at the scene, the injured person had already been taken to hospital.

NYPD is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. (Luiz C. Ribeiro of NY Daily News)

“I spoke directly to eyewitnesses who said this man yelled ‘Allahu Akbar,’ grabbed a screwdriver and stabbed him directly in the chest…then the man walked away and sort of pretended not to be a criminal and said ‘maybe someone should call 911, looks like someone got hurt on the street,'” Nava Silton told the press.

Silton said he later visited the victim in the hospital and described her as brave and courageous.

“This is incredibly scary and he is praying that his condition doesn’t get any worse. He had to remove the screwdriver from his body,” she said.

Early NYPD findings suggest mental health may be a factor.

“Although the perpetrator had no known mental health history with the NYPD, the initial investigation suggests mental health may have been a factor,” said Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

American Tourists Stabbed Outside ATHENS Acropolis as Police Arrest Suspect in Random Attack

Early NYPD findings suggest mental health may be a factor. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Officials across the state, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul, condemned the attack.

“These hateful and vile attacks have no place in our city,” Mamdani said.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Hochul said he was “disgusted by the senseless attacks on New Yorkers simply because they are Jewish.”

Anyone who tries to tear this apart will be met with the full force of the law. “New York will stand with our Jewish community today, tomorrow and always,” he said.