New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced mounting criticism Thursday after waiting several hours to publicly address a stabbing attack that officials described as antisemitic, instead initially using social media to promote his proposed tax on luxury second homes while other elected officials quickly condemned the violence.

The mayor eventually released a statement after the attack, saying he had been briefed on the incident, which left a Jewish man and an Asian man wounded on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

“I have been briefed on today’s horrifying stabbings on the Upper West Side, where an Asian man and a Jewish man were attacked. According to witness and victim statements, the perpetrator yelled “Allahu Akbar” during both attacks. I am relieved that both victims are in stable condition,” Mamdani wrote in a statement.

“The NYPD responded immediately and arrested Raul Morales in connection with both assaults—and I am grateful to the officers for their swift response.”

Mamdani’s delayed public response drew criticism from some observers, who argued that his history of sharp criticism toward Israel has contributed to concerns that progressive leaders have been reluctant to forcefully confront antisemitism directed at Jewish communities.

New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov was among those who directly blamed the mayor for helping create the atmosphere surrounding the attack.

“According to credible reports I received, the attacker was yelling ‘Allahu Akbar’ during his attempted murder. I pray for the speedy recovery of the victims. [Mamdani,] you got blood on your hands,” she wrote.

According to police, the first victim, a 57-year-old man, was attacked shortly after 1:30 p.m. near West 84th Street and Central Park West. Officers found him conscious and alert with a stab wound to his back before transporting him to a nearby hospital in stable condition.

A short time later, investigators located a second victim, a 50-year-old man, nearby with a stab wound to the torso. He was also conscious when first responders arrived and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

While several city officials publicly characterized the assault as an antisemitic stabbing, the New York City Police Department has not yet announced a motive or formally designated the incident as a hate crime as the investigation continues.

Police identified Raul Morales as the suspect and confirmed that he is in custody.

The attack quickly prompted condemnation from public officials and community leaders who expressed alarm over another violent incident involving a member of New York’s Jewish community.

“Disgusted by what appears to be another senseless attack on New Yorkers simply because they’re Jewish,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a post to X.

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin also condemned the violence.

“While we await additional details to be confirmed, we know that what is happening in our city is abhorrent. The fear in the Jewish community is real. Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood, regardless of their faith or identity,” Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, wrote in a post to X.

The attack also generated widespread reaction on social media, where some commentators linked the violence to the city’s increasingly heated political climate.

“A man yelling ‘allahu akbar’ stabbed a man in a kippah at 86th and Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side at 1:30 pm today, then likely stabbed someone else at 84th and Central Park West. Has apparently been caught. On the Jewish day of mourning. In Zohran Mamdani’s city,” another observer wrote.

As discussion of the stabbings spread online, Mamdani’s first social media post after the attack focused not on the violence but on his proposed pied-à-terre tax targeting owners of expensive second homes.

“If you have a second home in New York City worth more than $5M, check your mailbox when you’re back in the five boroughs — because you’ve got mail. Today, we sent notification letters to property owners, letting them know that our new pied-à-terre tax is coming soon,” Mamdani wrote at 3:55, almost two and a half hours after the attack.

According to NYPD statistics, the department received 146 hate-crime complaints during the first quarter of 2026 and made 71 arrests, up from 137 complaints and 51 arrests during the same period a year earlier.

Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the timing of the mayor’s statement or whether any internal factors contributed to the delay.