Three NYPD officers were injured in an “unprovoked” attack with a long blade near Times Square on New Year’s Eve, city officials said.
The incident occurred just after 10 p.m. on Saturday near 52nd Street and 8th Avenue, outside the secure area that had been set up for New Year’s Eve celebrations, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters at a news conference at Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital.
“Unprovoked, a 19-year-old male approached an officer and attempted to strike him over the head with a machete,” Sewell said. “The male then struck two additional officers in the head with the machete.”
One of the officers fired their weapon, striking the suspect in the shoulder, Sewell said. The suspect was taken into custody, she said.
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The three officers were taken to Bellevue, Sewell said.
“We are really pleased by the response and how our officers handled this situation,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “All three of the officers are in stable conditions and there are no critical threats to New Yorkers at this time.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Mike Driscoll said the bureau’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is involved to “ascertain what is the nature of the attack.” He said that the FBI believes the attacker was acting alone.
The NYPD released an image of a weapon, saying it had been recovered at the scene. The blade appeared to be a Gurkha knife, a type of curved blade, according to ABC News contributor Darrell M. Blocker, a retired CIA operative.
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Patrick Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, said, “Let’s think about those family members here who are in shock right now, never thinking the first call of the year would be their son, their husband, their family member would be here in Bellevue Hospital.”
One of the officers involved in the incident had graduated from the police academy on Friday, Sewell said.
Adams spoke at the officer’s graduation ceremony, he said.
“It just goes to show you, it could be your first day or it could be your last day, the actions that police officers must take every day are life-threatening situations,”
