NYPD Rookie Injured in Hatchet Attack Moving to Rehab: Officials

An NYPD rookie who was struck in the head with a hatchet wielded by a man authorities described as a "lone wolf" terrorist on a Queens street corner is entering a rehab facility to begin the next phase of his recovery, officials said. 

Officer Kenneth Healey had been posing for a picture with three other rookie cops last Thursday when Zale Thompson struck him in the head with an 18-inch hatchet, leaving him in critical but stable condition at Jamaica Hospital. He was released from the hospital Wednesday.

Healey, the son of a police officer, is talking and moving around but remains in great pain, police officials said. He is entering a rehabilitation center at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park.

The other rookie officer injured in the attack, Joseph Meeker, was released from the hospital after being treated for arm wounds. Thompson was shot dead on the scene.

The day after the attack, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton called Thompson a "self-radicalized" lone wolf who committed "an act of terror."

Thompson's activity on social media indicated he was a convert to Islam and included rants about injustices in American society and oppression abroad but offered no clear evidence of any direct affiliation with terror groups, police said.

Detectives say Thompson was still holding the hatchet when he was pronounced dead. The attack -- and the shooting -- happened in less than 10 seconds, Bratton said.

"Those officers exhibited extraordinary bravery and skill in not only taking down an individual who was intent on killing them but also rendering first aid immediately to their fallen comrade," Bratton said.

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