NYPD Officers Attacked By Man With Meat Cleaver In Midtown

Two New York police officers were injured and hospitalized following an encounter with a man armed with a meat cleaver Thursday afternoon, according to Reuters and multiple other sources.

The incident occurred at 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue, near Madison Square Garden, just before 5:00 p.m.

”Apparently the suspect assaulted one of the officers with some sort of sharp object, likely a meat cleaver, and shots were fired,” NYPD spokeswoman Sophia Mason told Reuters.

A source told ABC that officers instructed the man to drop the meat cleaver and fired when he refused. An unnamed source told the outlet that officers first attempted to use a taser on the suspect. 

NYPD Assistant Communications Commissioner J. Peter Donald confirmed that the officers fired “

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by the knife. Both officers were taken to a local hospital and are expected to survive, Reuters reports. 

CBS reports the man with the cleaver has also been hospitalized and is in critical condition. 

“He was running down the street waving it,” an unnamed MTA worker told the New York Daily News. “The cops were chasing him.” The worker said the assailant struck the officer with the knife when he tried to disarm him.

Adam Pavley, who was nearby when the incident happened, described the chaotic scene to Gothamist. After the officers returned fire, he said, “panic ensued. Amtrak cops were swarming out of Penn like bees from their nest. People were running and knocking people over.”

A Fox News reporter tweeted video of the incident that captured police running and the sound of gunshots. 

Other witnesses also posted photo and video on Twitter.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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