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NEW YORK: The New York Police Department has arrested 51-year-old Raul Morales after he allegedly stabbed two men in separate attacks near Manhattan's Central Park on Thursday.

According to officials, Morales shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ during both violent assaults. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that the victims an Asian male and a Jewish male, were hospitalized and are expected to survive.

The targeted nature of the stabbings sparked immediate outrage, prompting Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani to open a hate crime probe and demand swift legal accountability.

Detectives with the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force are leading the ongoing investigation, collecting forensic evidence and reviewing local surveillance footage from around the park.

The attacks have heightened safety concerns across the city's minority communities. Local advocates and residents are urging municipal leaders to increase neighborhood police patrols and bolster anti-hate initiatives as formal charges are prepared against Morales.