The suspect who allegedly stabbed two men on the Upper West Side was at least partially motivated by hate, according to police. Raul Morales, 51, allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” as he attacked the two victims near Central Park, witnesses told the police department. On Friday, police said he f aced hate crime charges for one of the attacks. The first victim, a 57-year-old Asian man, was walking near West 84th Street and Central Park West just after 1:30 p.m. Thursday when a man came up from behind him and stabbed him in the back without warning, police said. Minutes later, the suspect stabbed a 50-year-old Jewish man in the chest on the sidewalk of West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. It was for the latter attack that Morales was charged Friday with attempted murder as a hate crime and assault as a hate crime, police said, as well as first-degree assault. For the attack on the first victim, police said Morales was charged with attempted murder and assault. He also faces weapon possession charges in connection with both alleged attacks. The stabbings happened about two blocks apart in broad daylight, police said. Both victims were taken to a hospital and were expected to survive. One of the victims was discharged from Mount Sinai Morningside late Friday afternoon. “We are praying so much that things don’t get worse that he will really really hoping that he will fully recuperate, We really hope,” said Naba Silton, a friend of the victim who was released. Silton said the suspect simply walked away after attacking. “After he plunged the screwdriver into his chest, the guy walked off and pretended he was a regular Joe and said oh, ‘I think someone is hurt, and call 911,'” said Silton. The department had been working since Thursday to determine a motive. There wasn’t immediately any known link between Morales and the victims, and the initial investigation suggested that mental health may have been a factor in the attacks, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. After the charges against Morales were announced, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was “thankful that [Morales] is being held accountable and hope he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This kind of despicable violence is not who we are as a city. Every New Yorker deserves to be safe, regardless of their religion or race.” Earlier on Friday, the mayor was asked if his comments that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested. “I think first and foremost, to make clear, that there’s no tolerance for anti-Semitism or hatred of any kind in this city. This is a city that believes in the beauty and the breadth of all of its five boroughs and everyone who calls it home,” said the mayor. “And when anyone is perpetrating that kind of a bigotry, that kind of a hatred, it will be held fully accountable in this city.” Morales remained in police custody Friday. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. A delivery driver who was in the area at the time helped lead police to Morales. He told NBC New York he followed the suspect inside an apartment building after the alleged attacks, and even rode an elevator up with him to help get as much information as possible for police to find him. “I went up with him in the elevator and pretty much got off at the floor. To see where he lived and gave the information to the dispatcher that was on the phone with me at the time,” said the driver, who did not wish to be identified. “I just didn’t want this guy to get away.” The driver said he heard Morales yell the Arabic phrase and that he was armed with a screwdriver. 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. Gov. Kathy Hochul posted on X she was “disgusted” by what she called “another senseless attack on New Yorkers simply because they’re Jewish.” Ninety minutes later, she added that “Asian New Yorkers, like Jewish New Yorkers, have endured waves of hate-fueled violence in recent years.” New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin said in a post she was “sickened and furious” by the incident. ...read more read less