Zale Thompson, a 32-year-old resident of Queens, New York, was shot dead Thursday night after attacking two New York City police officers with a hatchet.
Commissioner Bill Bratton told NBC New York that Thompson “charged at the officers with a hatchet in his hand. Unprovoked and not speaking a word, the male then swung at one of the officers with a hatchet, striking his right arm. After striking that officer, the suspect continuing swinging the hatchet, striking a second officer in the head.”
One officer is in critical condition, the other in stable condition. A female bystander is recovering in Jamaica Hospital after being inadvertently shot during the attack.
CNN reports a source saying Thompson “had a criminal record in California and had been discharged from the Navy for misconduct.”
The Daily Mail reports, “A Facebook page believed to belong to Zale Thompson says that he graduated from Teacher’s College at Columbia University and features Arabic writing and a photograph of a Muslim warrior.”
Police are attempting to verify this and investigating if Thompson had any ties to radical groups.
CNN wonders the same thing. (H/T Freebeacon)
WATCH: