NYPD cops fatally shoot ax-wielding attacker

(Image credit: CNN)

last updated 8 January 2015

On Thursday afternoon, a man wielding a hatchet attacked four rookie New York Police Department officers posing for a photo on a busy commercial street in Queens. The attacker struck on officer in the arm and another in the head before the other two cops opened fire, killing the man and accidentally wounding a 29-year-old woman half a block away, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said Thursday evening.

The man had ID, and investigators are still trying to determine if it is authentic; social media postings of the man in the ID reportedly suggests sympathies for Islamist extremists, CNN reports, but Bratton said there is no indication yet that the attack was terrorism-related. Still, on Thursday night the NYPD warned all uniformed officers to stay "vigilant at all times in order to prevent attacks and injuries."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.