Police gather at scene of two police officers killed in a clash (AFP)
A man with a knife stabbed a New York police officer in the neck on Wednesday and two police officers who ran to his aid were injured before they repeatedly shot the attacker, police said.
The four were taken to Kings County Hospital where the police were in stable condition and the suspect was in critical condition, the police said.
The attack in Brooklyn occurred amid mass protests and some riots in New York City surrounding the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, while in the care of white police.
It was not immediately clear whether the attack was linked to the protests, but police commissioner Dermot Shea said the police were required to stop the looting.
A man “casually” walked to one of the officers near Church and Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the left side of his neck, said Shea.
“It seems to be a completely cowardly, despicable and senseless attack on a helpless policeman,” said Shea. “Thank goodness we are not planning a funeral.”
The other two officers heard gunshots fired two blocks away and ran and saw that the suspect had the injured officer’s weapon, he said.
The two officers were shot dead in the fight. Shea did not give details of how they were shot.
Prosecutors have launched new criminal charges against four Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd, neck by neck in the street in an arrest that sparked more than a week of civil unrest and protests nationwide.
Brooklyn police charged a crowd of about 1,000 protesters defying a curfew, albeit peacefully, near an outdoor plaza, and beat protesters and reporters as they rushed to cover up under a downpour of heavy rain.
The confrontation in Brooklyn seemed to be the biggest exception to a quieter night, a few hours after the new charges in Minneapolis.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
