A Costa Rican citizen is among two men stabbed Thursday afternoon in a pair of attacks on Manhattan’s Upper West Side that New York police are investigating as a possible hate crime, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed.
The Costa Rican, a 50-year-old man, was stabbed in the chest with a screwdriver near the corner of West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue shortly after 1:30 p.m., according to the New York Police Department. A short time earlier and roughly two blocks south, near West 84th Street and Central Park West, a 57-year-old man was stabbed in the back with a knife. Both men were taken to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital in stable condition, and police said both are expected to survive.
In a statement posted to social media, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship condemned the attack in the strongest terms, describing it as apparently motivated by ethnic and religious hatred and saying its citizen had been wounded because of his faith. The ministry expressed solidarity with everyone affected, singling out the injured compatriot and his family, and reiterated our country’s rejection of all forms of hatred, intolerance and violence.
It said it was providing support and consular assistance to the man, who according to the information available to authorities was in stable condition, and that it was monitoring the case through Costa Rica’s consular representation in the United States. Local reports indicated the man had been wearing a kipá, the head covering worn by observant Jewish men, and had recently attended observances for Tisha B’Av, a Jewish day of mourning, at a nearby center.
The New York Police Department arrested a 51-year-old man, whom it identified as Raúl Morales, in connection with both attacks. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said victim and witness accounts indicated the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the assaults. Tisch said the department was evaluating whether the incidents amounted to a hate crime and noted that, while the suspect had no known mental health history with the NYPD, the early investigation suggested mental health may have been a factor. Officers took Morales into custody after he barricaded himself inside an apartment building near Amsterdam Avenue and West 88th Street, police said.
Morales was expected to appear before a judge on Friday, when prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office were due to file formal charges that may differ from those initially brought by police. A law enforcement official told CNN that the charges are expected to include a hate crime count and attempted murder. The account of what took place remains preliminary, and authorities have cautioned that the investigation is in its early stages.
