A knife-wielding woman stabbed two people in New York’s Times Square on Monday before she was shot by police, according to authorities and US media.
Local news reports said the suspect was taken to a hospital in critical condition, while the status of the two victims was not immediately clear.
Police reportedly do not believe the stabbing was terror-related and are looking into the woman’s mental health.
The shooting happened next to a New York Police Department (NYPD) substation, just outside One Times Square, the building that hosts the city’s annual New Year’s Eve ball drop celebration. It is one of the most heavily policed spots in the city.
Videos posted on social media show a group of at least 10 officers gathered around the woman, who is holding two large kitchen knives. At least one officer appeared to try to subdue her with a taser but it did not incapacitate her, the video shows.
The video then shows the woman walking quickly towards the officers while waving the knives in front of her. As one officer backed up, he and at least two others pulled their handguns and the sound of gunshots could be heard.