David Baril, suspected of being the hammer-wielding man responsible for a series of attacks in New York City earlier this week, has been charged with seven counts of felony assault and criminal possession of a weapon, the New York Times reports.
Baril remains in critical condition after an encounter with two police officers on Wednesday in midtown Manhattan, during which he allegedly took a swing at one officer with a hammer before the officer’s partner shot him twice. According to the Times, he is yet to be arraigned.
On Monday there were reports of a hammer-wielding assailant who had attacked four victims, mainly striking them in the head. None of the victims were seriously injured, but Baril, 30, fit the description of the attacker and was stopped by two uniformed officers on Wednesday for further questioning. It was then that Baril allegedly took out a bloodstained hammer, the Times notes, and swung it at Officer Lauren O’Rourke, aiming at her with the claw end. O’Rourke’s partner, Officer Geraldo Casiagne, fired four times at Baril, hitting him twice.
O’Rourke, according to the Times, was treated for minor injuries to the back of her head and her back before being released.
Read more at the New York Times.