Police ID NYC Hatchet Attacker,
Say He Was Muslim Convert

By Fox News Insider | October 24, 2014

Zale Thompson, hatchet attackerMore information is coming in this afternoon on Thursday's hatchet attack on New York City police officers in Queens.

One officer remains in critical but stable condition after being hit in the head with a hatchet, while a second has since been released from the hospital.

Police then opened fire, killing the man and wounding a woman nearby with errant gunfire.

The New York Post reported:

Innocent bystander LaToya Jones, 29, who worked at a nearby 99-cent store, was hit by a stray police bullet during the chaos and might be paralyzed, according to law enforcement sources.

Jones underwent surgery at Jamaica Hospital to remove a bullet from her back, sources said.

NYPD investigators scoured Thompson’s home for evidence of his leanings and a motive for the savage attack. They recovered notebooks filled with Arabic writing and will translate them to look for more evidence of Thompson’s radicalism.
Zale Thompson's bloody hatchetZale Thompson, 32, served in the Navy and had converted to Islam a few years ago. Thompson was discharged from the military in 2003 for misconduct.

He had reportedly supported ISIS in online rants.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio described the incident as a "vicious attack by a very troubled individual."

Police believe Thompson was self-radicalized and was not acting at the direction of a foreign terrorist group. They said he had a prior criminal history in California.

Here are some apparently anti-government Facebook posts alleged to have been made by Thompson: