An axe-wielding man was shot dead by a police officer after he attacked him and a colleague.
Zale Thompson, 32, was killed after he swung the weapon at two officers in Queens, New York at about 2pm yesterday.
One of the New York Police officers is seriously injured in hospital after being struck in the back of the head.
A bystander, reported to be a 29-year-old woman, was said to be in a stable condition today after being hit in the back by a stray police bullet.
Video footage taken from the scene shows the moments immediately after the shooting.
Detectives are investigating whether Thompson, who was a recent convert to Islam, had been motivated by extremist ideas.
Despite the line of inquiry, police dismissed reports that the attack was linked to terrorism.
Police Commissioner William Bratton said: “There’s nothing we know at this time that would indicate that [Islamic terrorism] is the case."
Witnesses described the shocking moment they saw Thompson raising the axe and bringing it down on the police officer's head, despite being told to drop the weapon.
One onlooker told the New York Post: “He raised his arm up high and brought it straight down on the cop’s head.
“The cop went down to the ground, face first. The cop’s just lying there with blood pouring down his face. He didn’t move.”
