Hammer-Wielding Suspect Potentially Shot In NYC

On Wednesday, the suspect accused of striking people on the back of their heads with a hammer on Monday of this week was shot during a stand-off with police in midtown Manhattan, around 37th Street and Eighth Avenue, according to Newsweek. The same suspect had been linked to two other attacks in the city, sources told NBC Wednesday, that involved his allegedly hitting two more bystanders with hammers. According to the officers, they recognized the man and approached him, at which point he pulled out a hammer. The officers then shot him multiple times in self-defense, the New York Times reports a witness said, and the suspect was transported to hospital.

A photo of the suspect had been released by the NYPD earlier this week, and he's accused of hitting a bystander with his fist in addition to the series of hammer attacks (it's not clear how many attacks there conclusively were; estimates range from two to five). All the attacks took place within four to five hours on Monday. Shortly after the shooting, cops swarmed the streets and several were closed off to pedestrians.

The suspect's condition is unclear. He was initially reported as dead by bystanders on the scene, according to NBC, but that status was later downgraded to "extremely critical condition."

Here's the photo the NYPD released after the initial attacks.

Said police commissioner Bill Bratton in a statement Wednesday:

I want to commend those two officers for their actions this morning. First, in seeing the suspect, approaching him. And then second, for the quick action on the part of the officers, but particularly the male officer who, based on the preliminary video that I reviewed, quite possibly saved his partner’s life by shooting the suspect.