Face of the suspect charged with stabbing 5 at New York rabbi's home

Grafton Thomas, suspect in the stabbing of five persons at New York rabbi’s home

Grafton Thomas, suspect in the stabbing of five persons at New York rabbi's home

Grafton Thomas, suspect in the stabbing of five persons at New York rabbi’s home

A 37 year-old man identified as Grafton Thomas has been charged by Ramapo Police in New York as the suspect who stabbed five persons at a rabbi’s home in Monsey.

Michael Specht, supervisor of the town of Ramapo, which provides government services to Monsey, said the attack took place during a Hanukkah celebration at the home of Rabbi Chaim L. Rottenberg, next to a synagogue.

Monsey is an enclave of ultra-Orthodox Jews about 35 miles from New York City.

Thomas was arraigned on Sunday and charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary, NBC New York reports. He pleaded not guilty and a partial cash bail was set at $5 million.

The attack, which Governor Andrew Cuomo called ‘domestic terrorism’, occurred around 10 p.m., on the seventh night of Hanukkah on Saturday.

Ramapo Police Chief Brad Weidel said the suspect was armed with a blade. At least one of the victims was “seriously hurt,” he said.

The attacker was arrested by the New York City police department nearly two hours later in the Harlem section of Manhattan, NBC New York reported.

He was caught in a car after license plate readers in Harlem and the George Washington Bridge were able to locate him, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News.

Investigators requested a search warrant for the vehicle in an effort to determine whether the weapon was inside.–NBC

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