A group of New York City police officers were attacked by a hatchet-wielding man in broad daylight on a busy commercial district in Queens, wounding two and leaving one critically injured, before the assailant was shot to death, a police source told ABC News, later confirming that the attacker was most likely "just an angry guy."
Around 2 p.m. Thursday, four police officers were stopped and asked by a freelance photographer to pose for a picture at the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and 162nd Street in the city's borough of Queens, a New York Police Department spokesman said.
According to surveillance video, a man can be seen walking on the sidewalk towards the cops with an 18-1/2-inch hatchet in his hand. Suddenly he attacks the officers without any provocation, swinging the hatchet to strike one officer in the right arm and then swinging it the other way to strike a second officer in the head, the Associated Press reported.
Taking charge of the situation, the remaining two officers fired their weapons at the attacker and fatally shot him, but also ended up accidentally shooting a stray bullet at a 29-year-old female bystander in her lower back, police said.
Zale Thompson, 32, was identified to be the attacker. Even though authorities initially wondered if the attack was terrorism-related, a police source stated that officials had not discovered Thompson to be connected to any terrorist organizations.
"The initial impression is that he's just an angry guy who's ranting about the American government and American oppression of foreign people," the source said.
While 25-year-old officer Kenneth Healey was listed in stable but critical condition with a head wound at Jamaica Hospital on Friday morning, 24-year-old officer Joseph Meeker was listed in stable condition with an arm injury. Additionally, the 29-year-old woman was recovering after undergoing surgery, police said.
Meanwhile, several search warrants were executed at Thompson's house by the police, where they found hunting knives and axes, according to Reuters.
"At this point, no known motive for this attack has been established," Police Commissioner William Bratton said at a press conference.
All four officers involved in the New York City incident graduated on July 8 from the city Police Academy.
