One NYPD officer stabbed, two others shot in hands during wild confrontation in Flatbush

One police officer was stabbed and two others were shot in the hands near the intersection of Flatbush and Church Avenues in Brooklyn on Wednesday, a source said,

One NYPD officer was stabbed in the neck and two others were shot in the hand during a chaotic and bloody confrontation at a Brooklyn intersection late Wednesday, officials said.

The melee erupted at 11:50 p.m. at Flatbush and Church avenues in front of a Chase Bank.

At an early Thursday news conference at Kings County Hospital, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said two officers from the 70th Precinct assigned to an anti-looting post were at the intersection when a man “casually” walked up to one of them and slashed him in the neck, “missing an artery.”

A sergeant a block away heard the gunfire and rushed to the scene, where the attacker held a gun police believe belonged to one of the anti-looting officers, Shea said.

“It was a chaotic scene,” Shea said, adding 22 bullet shells were recovered.

Police shot and critically wounded the attacker, and two officers suffered gunshot wounds to the hand, apparently in the hail of bullets.

All three officers were in stable condition at KCH, and the suspect was in critical condition, authorities said.

Shea said investigators would work with local and federal prosecutors in the case, but didn’t discuss a possible motive for the attack, or identify the suspect.

“Tonight is a story of bravery and courage,” Mayor de Blasio said at the news briefing.

“We’re gathered on a very tough night,” de Blasio said. “It’s another example of what it means every day to protect all of us no matter what is happening, the bravery they show constantly,” he said of the officers.

Then referring to the George Floyd demonstrations that have been seen disturbing clashes between protesters and the NYPD, de Blasio declared: “This is a moment in our history, we’ve got to support each other.”

“Officers protect us, we have to respect and protect them,” he said. "We have to find a way to come together and move forward."

Police Benevolent Association president Pat Lynch suggested the violence was triggered by anti-cop rhetoric.

“Are we surprised we got this call. Are we surprised we’re here at the hospital again,” he asked.

Shea added, "We are all fed up. Violence has to stop. Words matter.”