New York
police fear that a crazed hatchet attack on four police officers in
Jamaica, Queens, today could be linked to terrorism.
Suspect
Zale Thompson, 32, pictured in surveillance footage, was shot dead on
the scene after slashing one cop in the arm and the other in the head at
around without warning about 2pm.
The officer struck in the head was critically injured.
A
29-year-old female bystander a half-a-block away from the attack was
critically injured after being shot by an errant police round. She is
currently recovering from surgery at Jamaica Hospital and is listed in
'grave' condition.
Act if terror?: Suspect Zale Thompson
can be seen swinging a hatchet towards police officers at 2 p.m. on
Thursday afternoon in Jamaica, Queens
Without warning: Zale Thompson attacked officers without warning or uttering a single word
Bloodied hatchet: The 18 and 1/2 inch
hatchet is dripping with blood after Zale Thompson used it to slash a
police officer in the head and the other in the arm
Police
say they were investigating whether Thompson's attack on the cops was
linked to Islamic terrorism. ISIS has urged fighters to launch lone wolf
attacks in the United States.
Thompson's
Facebook page features a photograph of a man dressed in Middle Eastern
garb and a cover photo displaying Arabic writing.
In one, a man ran down two soldiers in his car in Quebec, killing one, before being shot dead.
On
Wednesday a convicted felon ambushed a soldier outside Canadian
Parliament, fatally wounding him, before running the Parliament building
and opening fire.
DNA Info
reports that on Thursday afternoon a freelance photographer approached
the group of rookie cops and asked to take their photograph.
As
the officers were posing for the camera, Thompson charged towards them
swinging an 18.5 inch hatchet without uttering a single word.
One 24-year-old officer was slashed in the arm
Another
25-year-old officer was slashed in the back of head and taken to
Jamaica Hospital where he is being treated in critical condition,
reports CBS.
The two remaining police shot at Thompson who dropped his hatchet then died at the scene.
Police
Commissioner Bill Bratton said he's not ruling out terrorism especially
in the wake of recent terror attacks in Canada, reports CNN.
'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,' said Bratton.
CNN
reports that Thompson has a criminal record in California and that he
was discharged from the U.S. Navy for misconduct. Details of his
criminal record and his misconduct are not known at this time.
His Facebook page says that Thompson graduated from Columbia Teacher's College and that he resides in Queens.
CNN reports that New York police were alerted to be on the lookout for random attacks following Thursday's incident.
DNA Info spoke with witnesses on the scene.
The scene: NYPD officers shot dead a
man armed with a hatchet who attacked them Thursday afternoon and
critically injured a 29-year-old female bystander in the process
Unprovoked attack: Police gather
around the suspect they fatally shot in Queens after he lunged at them
with and hatchet and slashed two of them in an unprovoked attack
Praise: Police Commissioner Bill
Bratton hold up a photo of the scene on Thursday and says that the group
of recent Police Academy graduates handled the situation as best they
could
Facebook page: A Facebook page
believed to belong to Zale Thompson says that he graduated from
Teacher's College at Columbia University and features Arabic writing
'We heard pop, pop, pop, pop,' said Rafael, 44, who works at Overseas Travel nearby where the incident occurred.
'She was screaming,"'Help me." She couldn't get up,' said Ericka Babb, a medical assistant at Priority Medical Center in Queens.
'We were way too scared,' said Rafael.
Officers say they shot the hatchet-yielding suspect but it’s not clear how many rounds were fired.
'It was a completely unprovoked attack,' said NYPD Chief Kim Royster, a department spokeswoman.
Police
Commissioner Bill Bratton said during a news conference that all of the
police involved are recent graduates of this summer's Police Academy
class.
'Three rookie cops, absolutely modest about what happened today and what they did,' de Blasio said.
During the conference Bill De Blasio lauded the officers' training and their fast response to the unprovoked attack.
Dead:The body of the attacker lays
covered on Jamaica Avenue near 162nd street in the borough of Queens in
New York where the fight occurred on Thursday
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