Man shot dead after attacking US cops with axe

Man shot dead after attacking US cops with axe

A hatchet-wielding attacker charged at a group of New York City police officers posing for a photograph on Thursday, wounding two, one critically, before he was shot dead.

The officers were on foot patrol when they were asked by a freelance photographer to pose for a picture on a street in Queens around 2pm (2am yesterday, Singapore time), a New York Police Department spokesman said.

Suddenly, a man carrying a hatchet charged at the officers, swinging it and striking one officer in the right arm, and then swinging it again and striking a second officer in the head, the spokesman said.

The remaining two officers fired their weapons at the man, hitting him, Reuters reported.

DEAD AT SCENE

The suspect, whose identity was not immediately confirmed, was said to be about 32 years old. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A 29-year-old woman bystander was struck by a stray bullet.

She underwent surgery and was recovering at the hospital.

Both officers were being treated in hospital, with the 25-year-old officer who was hit in the head undergoing surgery and in critical condition.

The other officer, 24, was in stable condition.

"At this point, no known motive for this attack has been established," Police Commissioner William Bratton told a press conference.

Police declined to comment on media reports that the attack was tied to terrorism and that an internal memo had urged officers to maintain a heightened level of awareness in the wake of recent attacks in Canada.


This article was first published on October 25, 2014.
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