Ax-Wielding Man Attacks D.C. Police Officer — This Jaw-Dropping Photo Shows Just How Close of a Call It Was

An ax-wielding man reportedly attacked a police officer in Washington, D.C., as he sat in his police cruiser early Friday morning. The incident comes just one week after a Muslim man brutally attacked officers in New York City with a hatchet in what officials described as a “terrorist attack.”

The seemingly unprovoked attack in D.C. occurred at around 3 a.m. near the Catholic University of America campus, according to police. A shocking photo later emerged of the ax embedded in the police car’s window, right in the area where the officer’s head would have been.

Source: NBC Washington

Fortunately, the officer wasn’t injured in attack. He reportedly pursued the suspect and a scuffle ensued. The officer injured his shoulder in the struggle and the suspect, described as a stocky African-American man standing about 6 feet tall, got away.

Police have yet to identify the suspect or a possible motive in the attack. Once he is apprehended, he will be charged with felony assault, police said.

Police departments in New York City and Washington, D.C., are operating at a “heightened level of awareness” in the aftermath of the two attacks.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said in a release that the attack "underscores the need to always maintain a very high level of situational awareness while we are working," but released little information on the case.

Officials said the suspect in the recent NYC hatchet attack, Zale Thompson, was a Muslim convert who was self-radicalized but had no known ties to international terrorist groups.

In this frame grab taken from video provided by the New York Police Department, an unidentified man approaches New York City police officers with a hatchet, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, in the Queens borough of New York. The man injured two with the hatchet before the other officers shot and killed him, police said. A bystander was wounded in the gunfire. Investigators were still trying to confirm the identity of the assailant and determine a motive. (AP/New York Police Department)

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Screengrab featured image via WUSA-TV