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New York (CNN) -- A man charged at four New York police officers with a metal hatchet Thursday, hitting two of them at a time of high alert for authorities concerned they might be targeted in the United States and Canada.
The suspect was hiding behind a bus shelter as if he was waiting to attack the officers, according to a law enforcement official, who said it almost appeared as if he was stalking them.
He struck one officer in the right arm and another in the head, police Commissioner Bill Bratton said. The two officers who weren't hit then shot at and killed the attacker.
The law enforcement official identified the suspect as Zale H. Thompson, who had a criminal record in California and had been discharged from the Navy for misconduct, according to the source.
The police officer who was struck in the head remains in critical but stable condition.
Authorities are looking to see if the unprovoked attack, in the New York borough of Queens, is tied to recent calls by radicals to attack military and police officers, law enforcement officials say.
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