Paris of the West: Cops Attacked with Machete of Peace Near Times Square

New York is a wonderfully vibrant city.

Many call it the Paris of the West, due to its colorful cheer.

New York Post:

A rookie NYPD police officer on his first day on the job was attacked with a machete on New Year’s Eve just blocks Times Square — and police are probing whether the suspect is a recently radicalized Islamic extremist, according to police sources.

The officer — who graduated Friday and was assigned to a Staten Island precinct but was working the New Year’s Eve detail for the night — was stationed at West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue when the machete-wielding madman approached him and two other officers around 9:30 p.m., NYPD sources told The Post.

The post was outside the area attendees were being screened for weapons, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a press conference early Sunday.

The rookie cop was slashed in the head, prompting another cop to shoot the suspect, The rookie cop, identified by Mayor Eric Adams as Paul, was struck on the head, prompting another cop to shoot the suspect, striking him in the shoulder, the sources said. Paul suffered a large laceration and skull fracture, Sewell said.

One of the other cops, an eight-year veteran, was also struck on the head with the weapon and suffered a laceration.

The attack was “unprovoked,” Adams said at the press conference.

The suspect, a 19-year-old, was arrested and taken to Bellevue Hospital. Senior law enforcement officials told The Post that cops are investigating whether he is a recently radicalized Islamic extremist, based on online postings.

Here’s the handcuffed suspect in a stretcher.

They’re enriching our culture.