Zale Thompson attacked four rookie police officers Thursday, prompting Police Commissioner William Bratton to label him a terrorist. Thompson injured two of the officers, one critically.
Four police officers were patrolling between Jamaica Avenue and 162nd Street in Queens on foot when they were approached by a photographer for a photo. It was while posing for a photo that Thompson launched his attack, hitting Joseph Meeker in the arm and Kenneth Healey on the head, fracturing his skull.
The attack lasted only seven seconds. It didn't go on further because Thompson was shot dead by the two other police officers in the scene. Meeker has been released from the hospital while Healey remains in critical but stable condition.
According to the police investigation, Thompson had the axe in a backpack and was watching the police officers several minutes before attacking them.
He had also converted to Islam about two years ago and was described by his family as a recluse. Family members also noted that Thompson was depressed lately. He spent a lot of time online and his most recent searches and web activity involved terrorist websites and acts of violence.
"Was this an act of terrorism? It appears at this point that that was the suspect's intent. We still have a little more investigative work to do to determine if we can document that in another way," explained John Miller, NYPD intelligence and counterterrorism division head.
Thompson was not married, didn't have children, and had no recent employment. He was arrested six times before in Oxnard, California but has a spotless record in New York City. The only other time he had contact with the NYPD was when he was a victim of assault in 1998. In 2003, Thompson was involuntarily discharged from the military for possible involvement with drugs.
According to Deputy Police Commissioner John Miller, Thompson had a thriving social media presence. He had anti-Western (sometimes anti-white) and anti-government sentiments and these showed in his posts. However, there is no indication yet that he was involved with others in a terrorist plot.
"He was self-directed in his activities. The investigation is hoping to determine as quickly as possible if there were any other actions that he was engaged in with others that might indicate a continuing threat," said Bratton.
Ironically, the attack happened as Miller was doing a presentation in Florida about self-radicalization, as well as terrorist groups using social media and the rest of the Internet to get to impressionable individuals and encourage them to launch their own attacks.
