Two men aged 50 and 57 were stabbed near West 84th Street and Central Park West on Manhattan's Upper West Side on Thursday. Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, said the incident appears to be an antisemitic attack.
The New York City Police Department responded to a 911 call about an assault at approximately 1:30 p.m. Officers found both men alert and conscious, each with a stab wound to the torso. Both were hospitalized in stable condition.
A suspect was taken into custody, and the investigation is ongoing, police said. When asked whether the NYPD is investigating the incident as a hate crime, the department stated that "everything is still fluid."
Unverified reports indicated that a victim was identifiable as Jewish and that the suspect may have yelled "Allahu akbar." The stabbing occurred on Tisha B'Av, a Jewish fast day marking the destruction of the two Jewish Temples in Jerusalem and other tragedies.
The incident came a day after United Jewish Teachers requested enhanced NYPD presence near synagogues and Jewish institutions following a video shared by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, in which he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "war criminal" And said he should be arrested.
"I am absolutely sickened and furious by what appears to be an antisemitic stabbing on the Upper West Side," Menin stated. "While we await additional details to be confirmed, we know that what is happening in our city is abhorrent."
Menin added that "the fear in the Jewish community is real" And emphasized that "every New Yorker deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood, regardless of their faith or identity." She called for unity in condemning antisemitism and holding those responsible accountable, thanking the NYPD for apprehending the assailant and extending her prayers to the victims and their families.