MOSCOW, October 24 (RIA Novosti) - A man wielding a metal hatchet attacked four NYPD police officers, injuring two, while they were posing for a photo, New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton announced at a press conference at Jamaica Hospital.
The incident took place at approximately 2 p.m. in a commercial area of Queens, at the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and 162nd Street, according to Bratton. The assailant approached the police officers soon after a freelance photographer asked to photograph them.
The attacker silently swung the hatchet, hitting an officer in the arm. Another officer sustained a serious injury to the back of his head. The other two officers present fired multiple shots fatally wounding the assailant. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The officers, as well as a female bystander who was accidentally injured in the shooting, were admitted to Jamaica Hospital. The officer, who was hit in the head, is in critical, but stable condition and remains in surgery, New York City Police Commissioner said. The other wounded officer is expected to be discharged from hospital soon. The injured female is recovering after surgery.
The police did not release the identity of the assailant, who was only described as a dark-skinned male aged 32. His motives remain unknown. The investigation is underway.
All police officers involved in the incident are assigned to the 103rd Precinct Partner Officer Program. They graduated from the Police Academy in July.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was “very impressed by not only their bravery in the face of something absolutely unexpected, but the way that the two officers responded to this incident and were able to immediately stop the situation and deal with the perpetrator.” The officers “responded exactly as their training dictated and ended the situation – thank God – very, very quickly,” he added.
De Blasio wished all of the officers involved in the incident a speedy recovery, according to the transcript from the press conference, published on New York City Hall’s website.
Bratton stated that there was no evidence suggesting the incident was terrorist related. “I think certainly the heightened concern is relative to that type of assault, based on what just happened in Canada and recent events in Israel – certainly one of the things that first comes to mind – but that’s what the investigation will attempt to determine,” he stressed.
Early on Wednesday, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, a Canadian-born Islam convert with a criminal record, fatally shot Cpl Nathan Cirillo, 24, a reserve infantryman, at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, according to the Telegraph. The gunman, after firing shots in the country’s parliament, was later killed by Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms of Canada’s House of Commons.
Two days prior, another attack took place in Quebec, near Montreal. Martin Couture-Rouleau, a 25-year old, who recently converted to Islam and was radicalized, struck two Canadian soldiers with a car, causing fatal injuries to one of them. The attacker, one of 90 suspected Canadian extremists currently monitored, was later killed by the police, International Business Times reported.
On Wednesday, Abdelrahman Shaludi, aged 21, drove his car into a crowd of Israeli pedestrians in Jerusalem, leaving a three-month-old girl, a US citizen, dead, and injuring six other people. The Palestinian was shot and killed by the police.
