Hammer-Wielding Suspect Linked to Monday's Attacks Shot After Trying to Hit Officers in Midtown N.Y.

By Marc Santia, Jonathan Dienst and Pei

The hammer-wielding suspect believed to have attacked four strangers in separate ambushes within a span of six hours in Manhattan earlier this week was shot in midtown Wednesday after trying to hit two NYPD officers on the street, authorities and a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation tell NBC 4 New York.

The suspect, an image of whom had been captured by surveillance cameras and released by police Tuesday, was shot near West 37th Street and Eighth Avenue around 10 a.m., authorities said. Police and multiple sources initially said the man was dead, though a senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the situation later said he was taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition.

The officers he tried to attack were not significantly injured, and the confrontation was captured on an NYPD camera, the senior law enforcement official said. The video shows the male and female officer approach the suspect near a corner; the suspect abruptly turns and swings the hammer at the female officer, the official said. She backs up and the male officer shoots the suspect in the street.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said at a preliminary news briefing Wednesday that the male officer fired four shots at the suspect, and the suspect was hit twice. It wasn't clear where on the body the suspect was shot, but the law enforcement official said he was undergoing surgery at Bellevue Hospital. Another briefing was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.