Suspect of NYPD Police Stabbing Harbored Interest in Islamic Extremism

Federal prosecutors said Camovic cased the area first, walking past the area and crouching nearby for several minutes before attacking.

After the stabbing, Camovic is seen chasing another officer, Randy Ramnarine, before rushing back toward Jean Pierre.

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Ramnarine fired two shots at Camovic and Jean Pierre fired six times.

Camovic then wrestled Jean Pierre's gun away from him and fired six shots — wounding Ramnarine and another officer in the hand. Ramnarine and a responding sergeant returned fire.

Camovic was hospitalized with gunshot wounds to the face, legs and torso before being moved to the city's Rikers Island jail complex.

His injuries, including a shattered wrist and elbow, have required several surgeries and he is still receiving physical therapy, Stahl said.

Last month, a judge ordered Camovic to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

While recovering days after the attack, federal prosecutors said, Camovic mistakenly told a worker at Kings County Hospital that he had killed two police officers and explained that “my religion made me do it."

According to federal prosecutors, Camovic texted a friend “Ill be a while” just before attacking Jean Pierre.

Camovic's phone contained deleted images of Arabic writing referencing the Islamic State and the name of a magazine it has used to radicalize and recruit followers, federal prosecutors said.

Camovic had CDs and a thumb drive in his Brooklyn bedroom containing audio and video files of lectures and sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki, a deceased Islamic cleric and reputed al-Qaeda leader, federal prosecutors said.

About a year before the attack, Camovic started expressing interest in Islamic State and other Syrian-based terrorist groups and asked about the permissibility of killing civilians, federal prosecutors said, citing information provided by an unidentified person interviewed during the investigation.

Camovic did not hold extreme religious beliefs, the person said, according to federal prosecutors.

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