A worker cleans the street after the first public New Year’s event since the Covid pandemic, at Times Square, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., Jan. 1, 2023.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Three New York City police officers were injured after being attacked with a machete near New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square, authorities said.
The incident happened just after 10 p.m. ET at West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue, just outside of the high-security zone where revelers are screened at checkpoints, officials said at a news conference early Sunday.
The suspect approached an officer and attempted to strike him over the head with the machete, Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. He then struck two officers in the head with the blade before being shot in the shoulder and apprehended by police, Sewell said.
The officers were hospitalized, one with a fractured skull and another with a bad cut, but were in stable condition, Sewell added. The suspect was also hospitalized, he said.
Mayor Eric Adams told the news conference that he had spoken to one of the wounded officers. “He understood that his role saved lives of New Yorkers today,” Adams said.