A 51-year-old man accused of stabbing an Asian man and a Jewish man in separate attacks on New York City’s Upper West Side has been charged with multiple hate crimes, authorities said on Friday.

The suspect, identified as Raul Morales, was arraigned on charges including two counts of second-degree attempted murder as hate crimes, as well as one count each of first-degree assault as a hate crime, second-degree assault as a hate crime, and attempted first-degree assault as a hate crime, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Following his arraignment, a judge ordered that Morales be held without bail pending further proceedings.

The attacks occurred on Thursday afternoon just blocks apart near Central Park, beginning at approximately 1:31 p.m.

According to prosecutors, Morales allegedly approached a 57-year-old Asian man from behind near West 84th Street and Central Park West, shouted “Allahu Akbar,” and stabbed him in the back with a knife.

He then allegedly continued walking before encountering a Jewish man wearing a kippah shortly after he left a synagogue near West 86th Street and Central Park West. Prosecutors said Morales stabbed the man in the chest with a screwdriver.

Police said both victims survived the attacks and are expected to recover.

The Asian victim was taken to hospital with the knife still lodged in his back and underwent surgery on Friday morning, prosecutors said.

During a news conference on Friday, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine identified the victims as Chok Sung and Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus. Levine said Grunhaus had just attended a service at The Jewish Center commemorating Tisha B’av, the Jewish day of mourning marking the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and other historic tragedies, when he was attacked.

Investigators also revealed that a witness allegedly saw Morales near a synagogue on West 83rd Street making the statement, “justice for Islam,” before the attacks.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said there was no evidence that the two victims knew each other or had any prior connection to Morales.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the attacks, describing them as horrific, and welcomed the filing of hate crime charges.

“I am thankful that he is being held accountable and hope he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the mayor wrote on X.

He added, “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.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Morales is scheduled to return to court on July 30 as the case proceeds.