NYPD Officers Recuperating after Hatchet Attack
Two New York City police officers are recovering in hospital after they were attacked by a man with a hatchet Thursday afternoon.
Police say one officer suffered a serious head wound and is in critical but stable condition. The other officer, who was hit in the back of the head, is in stable condition.
The suspect was shot and killed by police. According to CNN, his name was Zale H. Thompson.
Officials will not confirm if the attacks were related to terrorism, but say they aren't ruling that out.
"This early on, we really cannot say yes or no to that question," NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said during a news conference Thursday.
Branton says the attack on the group of four rookie officers in a Queens commercial business district was unprovoked.
Security videotape and witness accounts appeared to leave no doubt that the man purposely targeted officers, police said.
Moments before the attack, the suspect was seen on a street corner crouching down to pull the hatchet out of a backpack before he charged the officers and began swinging the hatchet with a two-handed grip, police added.
A 29-year-old woman who was in the vicinity of the location was accidentally struck by an officer's bullet. She is recovering from surgery and is in stable condition.
