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The revelation comes the same day that federal authorities in Brooklyn unsealed an indictment charging Dzenan Camovic with robbery and weapons offenses.
The NYPD on Wednesday also released body camera video of the attack (see below).
The surveillance video above shows Camovic rounding a Brooklyn street corner and slashing the unsuspecting officer’s neck before taking his service weapon and chasing his partner.
Camovic “used the cover of chaos during recent civil unrest in New York City to launch a premeditated and cowardly ambush against two New York City police officers, brutally slashing one with a knife, stealing his weapon and opening fire, injuring several responding officers,” U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr said.
Camovi repeatedly yelled, “Allahu Akbar,” a common Arabic phrase meaning “God is the greatest,” that has been used by perpetrators of violent jihadist terror attacks, Barr said.
“If not for the heroism and bravery of the responding NYPD officers who returned fire and took the assailant down early in the attack, untold additional officers and innocents could have been killed or injured,” he said.
Here's the bodycam video released by the NYPD:
Investigators discovered “a significant volume of materials that demonstrates his interest in and support for violent Islamist extremism, including materials related to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS),” the attorney general added.
“This is the second violent Islamist extremist attack on our land in the last nine months where the attacker used encrypted technology that can help cover his tracks and mask his communications,” he said.
Camovi remained in custody pending an arraignment.
“As the investigation continues into his motives, these significant federal charges reinforce the notion that an attack against police officers is an attack against society,” said NYPD Commissioner Dermot F. Shea.
Camovic’s targets were assigned to an anti-looting post near the intersection of Flatbush and Church Avenues in Brooklyn the night of June 3, while the city was under a nightly curfew order.
Around 11:30 p.m., Camovic walked past two uniformed police officers on foot patrol and appeared to crouch for several minutes watching them, federal authorities said.
Security footage shows him moving around the block in an apparent effort to approach the two police officers from behind, he said.
As seen on video, Camovic eventually rounds the corner from Flatbush Avenue onto Church Avenue and stabs one of the officers in the neck with a knife.
He then lunges at the second officer with the knife, runs back to the first officer and takes his gun.
Backups eventually shot Camovic and took him into custody.
Several officers were wounded during Camovic’s attack and robbery, including the second officer, who was shot in the hand authorities said.
Camovic faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig R. Heeren, Artie McConnell and Josh Hafetz are in charge of the prosecution for the government.
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