Crime News

Man Attacks NYPD Officers With Hatchet

New York Police District (NYPD) officers were attacked by a man carrying a hatchet on Thursday, two were wounded, one of them critically, before the attacker was shot dead at the scene, authorities said.

Four police officers were patrolling on foot on a street in Queens, when they were asked by a photographer to pose for a picture,according to Reuters.

A hatchet-wielding man suddenly appeared at the scene, striking two of the officers, one in the right arm and one in the head before the remaining two officers shot and killed him, police Commissioner William Bratton said.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”–Police Commissioner William Bratton”]

At this point, no known motive for this attack has been established,

[/quote]

The assailant, identified by the authorities as Zale H. Thompson, 32, was discharged from the Navy and had a criminal record in California.

A 29-year-old female bystander was shot in the back by a stray bullet and has undergone surgery. She is now recovering at the hospital.

The officer hit in the head is in critical but stable condition.

The attack came a day after a man attacked the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, killing a 24-year-old  station guard. The gunman was found to be connected with Canadian jihadists and was planning to travel to Syria, CNN sources said.

American authorities have not yet ruled out the possibility of a terrorist plot but declined to comment whether the subsequent incidents were part of the Islamist militants’ calls to jihadists in Western countries to attack police and military forces.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”–Police Commissioner William Bratton”]

There is nothing we know as of this time that would indicate that were the case. I think certainly the heightened concern is relative to that type of assault based on what just happened in Canada.

[/quote]

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