A knife-wielding man triggered a violent scuffle with police that left three officers hospitalized in New York City.
Just before midnight on Wednesday, two officers were walking through Brooklyn, New York, when a man approached them and slashed one of the officers in the neck with a small knife, according to a representative for the New York City Police Department. The other officer began to struggle with the man, during which a gun was fired.
The sound of the gunfire caught the attention of another nearby officer, who ran to the scene and shot the suspect. All three officers and the suspect were hospitalized.
One officer received treatment for the knife wound to the neck, while the other officer who was the first to the scene suffered a gunshot wound to the hand. The third officer was also hospitalized for a hand injury, which is also believed to be a gunshot wound.
All three officers were listed in stable condition. The suspect was in serious condition.
NEW: @NYPDDetectives release photo of the knife used in the attack on an NYPD officer. pic.twitter.com/a8vLpGqmfn
— Myles N. Miller (@MylesMill) June 4, 2020
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the attack was unprovoked. He expressed frustration with the number of officers who have been attacked in the city in recent days, including one who was hit in the head with a brick and another officer who was hit by a car.
“We know that we had a chaotic scene, with a knife recovered, as well. In the ensuing, we had the perpetrator struck multiple times. He is here, and he is in critical condition,” Shea said. “We had two police officers shot in the hand, and we have a third police officer that is stabbed in the neck. All police officers, at this point in time, thank God, are in stable condition and are expected to recover.”
The department and the FBI are investigating the motives of the suspect, who does not have an existing criminal record. The attack took place after the city’s curfew went into effect at 8 p.m. but came amid another day of demonstrations over George Floyd’s death.
Protests have taken place across the nation to advocate for an end to police brutality and racial injustice following the death of Floyd, a black man who died after being arrested by a white Minneapolis officer who kneeled on his neck for several minutes. Some of the protests, including those in New York City, have turned into riots riddled with looting, arson, and vandalism.
