Hours after three NYPD police officers were stabbed and shot by an unidentified man amidst widespread riots in New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation along with other agencies are looking at a possible terror angle to the attack.
The Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI was roped in to probe possible ties of the attacker, later identified as Dzenan Camovic, with terror groups, including ISIS.
In the incident, recorded on a surveillance camera, Camovic walked up to the three police officials manning the area and stabbed one of them with a knife on the left side of the neck. He then started shooting at the police from a snatched handgun. In turn the police too fired shots at Camovic. While the police did not sustain life-threatening injuries, the attacker remains critical in the hospital.
Dzenan Camovic Has no Criminal History
Though the authorities refused to share the identity of the attacker, NBC New York identified the man as Dzenan Camovic, an immigrant from the Balkan region.
Speaking to the outlet, law enforcement sources said that Camovic had recently shared anti-police sentiments on his social media feeds. The officials also suspected that even though Camovic did not appear on the law enforcement's radar, he may have been associated with "individuals of concern".
Speaking to New York Daily News, one of Camovic's neighbors said that he was a quiet and nice guy. "I was shocked to hear that he stabbed a police officer and then they shot him and he's still alive, it's amazing. He seemed so quiet and like a nice guy. I don't know what made him come out like that.. he never seemed angry," said the neighbor. In its report, the outlet stated that Camovic, likely from Albania, lived at an apartment in near Newkirk Avenue in Flatbush.
Twenty-year-old Camovic, who does not have any criminal history, had filed a police complaint against a worker at a café for punching him multiple times in the face following a quarrel. However, the police made no arrests in the incident which took place in October 2017.
Camovic's Apartment Searched by Authorities
The Post stated that a senior law enforcement source revealed that Camovic's "family may have nexus to terrorism." The sources told the outlet that even though the anti-terror investigators weren't familiar with Camovic, he'd been in contact with other people with whom investigators were familiar.
In a statement, ADIC William F Sweeney Jr, of the FBI's New York Office, said: "Last night's cowardly attack on the NYPD left one officer stabbed and two shot. The FBI New York office is fully engaged. We respond as if one of our own was attacked, and we will use every federal statute available to hold the perpetrator accountable."
After examining the crime scene, the federal agents went to the apartment building where Camovic was staying and collected evidence. According to RT, the FBI also investigated the spot where ACAB graffiti, an acronym meaning All Cops Are Bastards, was found. However, the reason behind the attack on the police remains a mystery.
