The man facing attempted murder charges for a stabbing rampage north of New York City that wounded five people as they celebrated Hanukkah was raised to respect all religions but has a long history of mental illness and hospitalization, according to the suspect’s family.
Grafton E. Thomas, 37, was arrested Saturday on five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary after he charged into a rabbi’s house in Monsey, N.Y. With his face concealed by a scarf, police and witnesses say Thomas used a large, sword-like knife to attack members of the Orthodox Jewish community who had gathered on the seventh night of Hanukkah.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the incident was an act of domestic terrorism, telling NPR, “when you try to commit mass murder based on race, color, creed, you try to instill fear. That is terrorism.”