A sergeant shot the suspect after hearing gunfire a block away.
By David Isaac, World Israel News
A new ripple in the stabbing attack of a police officer in Brooklyn on Wednesday: The suspect in the unprovoked, surprise attack caught on video yelled “Allahu Akbar” three times, police said on Saturday.
The suspect, Dzenan Camovic, 20, has not yet been linked to a terror organizations, but police say his tactics resembled those in anti-police attacks in Paris and other places, John Miller, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of counter terrorism, said at a news conference.
“All the hallmarks that would be out of the terrorist playbook,” Miller said.
Two officers from the 70th Precinct were assigned to prevent looting at the intersection of Flatbush and Church Avenues when a man “casually” approached one of them from behind and slashed his neck, narrowly “missing an artery,” Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said at the briefing.
The suspect then seized the officer’s firearm and shot two police officers, both in their hands. A sergeant a block away heard the gunfire and rushed to the scene, shooting Camovic.
The incident took place at 11:50 p.m. on Wednesday.
“It was a chaotic scene,” Shea said. Twenty-two shell casings were recovered at the scene.
“Tonight is a story of bravery and courage,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the news conference.
Camovic is listed in critical condition at Kings County Hospital. He is intubated and has not yet been interrogated.
The New York Post reports he is likely to be charged with three counts of attempt murder on a police officer.
One of Camovic’s relatives told the Post that the suspect is from Bosnia, a practicing Muslim and “absolutely not a terrorist.”
Allahu Akbar means “Allah is greater” in Arabic, implying Islamic supremacism. It’s typically yelled by Muslims as they carry out terrorist attacks.