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Man shot dead after attacking cops with hatchet in Jamaica

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Video courtesy of NYPD

Updated 9:37 p.m.

A hatchet-wielding man was shot and killed in Jamaica Thursday afternoon after injuring two police officers, authorities said.

The incident occurred at about 2 p.m. near Jamaica Avenue and 162nd Street, according to police.


As four rookie cops assigned to the 103rd Precinct were posing for a picture for a freelance photographer, the man, unprovoked and not saying a word, charged at them with the hatchet, authorities said.

One of the officers, 24-year old Joseph Meeker, was struck in the arm, and a second, 25-year old Kenneth Healey, was struck in the head, police said.

Photo via Instagram/@jonie.b
Photo via Instagram/@jonie.b

The two other officers then shot at the man, identified in media reports as 32-year-old Zale Thompson. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Healey was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he is listed in critical but stable condition, according to authorities. Meeker is expected to be released from the hospital late Thursday, reports said.

Photo courtesy of NYPD
The weapon used in the attack was a metal hatchet, about 18 inches long. (Photo courtesy of NYPD)

A bystander, a 29-year-old woman, was shot in the back during the gunfire and taken to the hospital, where she is reportedly listed in stable condition.

Though a motive for the attack wasn’t immediately clear, the NYPD is not ruling out terrorism, the Daily News said.

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