Suspected UWS stabber who screamed ‘Allahu Akbar’ has Karl Marx books, writings inside his NYC apartment

https://nypost.com/2026/07/25/us-news/karl-marx-writings-found-in-upper-west-side-stabbing-suspects-apartment/

The madman who screamed “Allahu Akbar” while stabbing an Asian and Jewish man in separate harrowing hate attacks on the Upper West Side was a fan of Karl Marx, with police finding one of the communist author’s books inside his apartment.

Raul Morales – who’s been hit with attempted murder and hate crime charges, and faces up to 40 years in prison – was arrested Thursday for the violent rampage.

Investigators later probed the 51-year-old’s shared apartment on Amsterdam Avenue, discovering writings of Marx – widely considered the father of communism – in his bedroom, according to information at Morales’ Friday night arraignment that was obtained by The Post.

Detectives escort Raul Morales on Friday following his arrest in connection with the two stabbing attacks in the Upper West Side. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post

Moshe Grunhaus is seen wounded and sitting on the sidewalk on Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street. Facebook / Lidia Lander

The document doesn’t specify which of Marx’s works detectives found, but the 19th century German philosopher wrote several lefty bibles including “The Communist Manifesto,” co-written with Friedrich Engels, and “Das Kapital,” which tears into capitalism. 

The NYPD did not immediately respond to The Post’s inquiry into which book they found. 

They also reportedly discovered two Qurans, a Jehovah’s Witness Bible, and a book on Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.

Morales allegedly first stabbed a 57-year-old Asian man named Chok Sung in the back with a knife near West 84th Street and Central Park West around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, cops said.

He then charged at Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, 50, and stabbed him in the chest with a screwdriver, cops said. The unsuspecting victim was wearing a yarmulke and leaving a synagogue on Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street at the time of the brazen attack.

Both victims were rushed to the hospital and are in stable condition.

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Here’s the latest on the Upper West Side stabbings:

• UWS stabbing suspect’s mom cries out in court, prosecutors reveal son yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ 3 times during alleged hate-filled rampage
• NYC Jewish leaders call on Mamdani to stop ‘fanning flames of hatred and division’ after UWS stabbings — but he only offers canned response
• Suspected UWS stabber’s calm claim to his roommate before rampage revealed – as cops probe possible hate link
• UWS stabbing suspect who yelled ‘Allahu Akbar!’ before attacks hit with hate crime charges: sources
  

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Morales, a former drug parolee who apparently used to work as a security guard in Brooklyn, left his roommates and neighbors shocked with the deplorable act of violence. 

“It blew my mind,” one resident, who identified himself as Tony J, 54, told The Post. 

“Every time I see him, he was always, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ Super, super cordial. … That’s why if he had a mental break, I have not the slightest idea.”

Morales was arraigned on two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault and one count of attempted assault — all of which are being tried as hate crimes.

The judge also ordered Morales to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. He is due back in court on July 30.

Morales’ tearful mother cried out to him in the Manhattan courtroom Friday night. 

“Raul, I’m here,” she said before burying her head in her hands. 

By 

Sonya Gugliara

Published July 25, 2026

 Updated July 25, 2026, 8:52 a.m. PDT