A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Raul Morales, 51, on hate crime charges in connection with two separate stabbing attacks that occurred on the Upper West Side in July. Prosecutors announced Thursday that Morales is facing charges for allegedly targeting two men while shouting religious and political phrases.
Morales is accused of first approaching a 57-year-old Asian man from behind and stabbing him in the back near West 84th Street and Central Park West, according to prosecutors. Witnesses reported that Morales shouted "Allahu Akbar" during this attack.
Shortly after, Morales reportedly walked past a synagogue, yelling "Justice for Islam" and "Allahu Akbar," before allegedly encountering a second victim, 50-year-old Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, a Jewish man wearing a kippah. Morales is accused of stabbing Grunhaus in the chest with a screwdriver, with witnesses again reporting the phrase "Allahu Akbar."
Morales was arrested less than an hour after the second attack at his apartment on Amsterdam Avenue. He was initially charged with hate crime offenses related to the attack on Grunhaus, but the charges were updated at his arraignment the following day to include the attack on the first victim.
He now faces two counts of second-degree attempted murder as a hate crime, along with assault and attempted assault charges with hate crime enhancements. If convicted on the top charges, Morales could face up to 40 years in prison, as sentences for attempted murder as a hate crime can run consecutively.
Morales remains in custody on Rikers Island and is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on September 22. Grunhaus is reportedly recovering, with a friend stating he is healing "little by little."