NEW YORK–There was a massive police presence in Midtown, New York after a police-involved shooting Thursday afternoon.
The incident occurred just before 5 p.m. near the intersection of 32nd Street and Sixth Avenue, just blocks from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden.
Two officers responded to a report of criminal mischief in Midtown when a man was seen trying to take a boot off his car. The officers spoke to the man, who then pulled an 11-inch meat cleaver out of his waistband and began running.
The officers chased him, and more joined in after it was broadcast on radios. One tried to use a Taser, to no effect.
The suspect then jumped on a police cruiser, and an off-duty detective who was on his way home and in the area tried to subdue him. That officer was hit with the meat cleaver in the face, and got a 6-inch cut from his temple to jaw. He is in serious condition.
While the off-duty detective was being attacked, uniformed officers began firing their department-issued guns at the suspect. It took approximately 18 shots until the suspect was subdued. He was taken to the hospital in critical, but stable, condition.
Two other officers were hurt, but it’s not clear how and they did not have life-threatening injuries.
A lot of video recorded the incident and will be useful in the investigation.
The suspect is identified as Akram Joudeh, 32. His last known address was in Queens, but he was believed to be living in his car now.