Suspect pleads not guilty to New York Chanukah stabbing

Grafton Thomas, 37, from the nearby village of Greenwood Lake, was arrested two hours after the incident in Harlem, Manhattan.

Officers said he had blood all over his clothing and smelled of bleach, and that he said “almost nothing” when he was stopped.

The suspect’s family said in a statement that he had “a long history of mental illness and hospitalisations”, NBC New York reported. He was charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo described the attack as an act of “domestic terrorism”.

It was the 13th antisemitic attack in the New York area in three weeks, he said, adding: “This is violence spurred by hate, it is mass violence and I consider this an act of domestic terrorism.

“Let’s call it what it is.”

Last month, a man needed surgery after being stabbed while walking to his synagogue in Monsey.

Two Jews were among six people killed on December 10 in a shooting at a kosher store in Jersey City.