CCTV captures man being shot after attacking New York City police officer with hammer - video

David Baril is currently in a critical but stable condition in New York's Bellevue hospital

Hammer attack by Baril on officer (ITN)

NYPD police have released CCTV video showing the moment a man suspected of attacking four strangers in New York on Monday was shot by police.

The footage shows David Baril being shot twice after he hit one of the officers with a hammer as they tried to arrest him on Wednesday morning.

Baril, 30, is filmed pulling the claw-hammer from his bag and swinging it three times at Officer Lauren O’Rourke before being shot by her partner Officer Geraldo Casaigne near New York’s busy Penn Station.

O’Rourke suffered injuries to the back of her head and back but New York Police Department Commissioner William Bratton said that Casaigne’s decision to shoot Baril may have saved his partner’s life.

Adding that 12-year veteran of the force Casaigne had “a split-second decision to save O’Rourke’s life.”

Baril was taken to Bellevue Hospital following the attack where he is said to be in a critical but stable condition after gunshot wounds to his back, elbow and neck.

Describing the event John McGuiness, an employee at the Eastgate Realty Corporation, told The Independent that he did not see Mr Baril swing a hammer but saw him hit the ground after being shot several times.

“People were screaming, crying and running after the shooting. They’d witnessed the event and ran inside buildings to calm down,” said McGuninness. “He seemed responsive but stopped moving after while. Everyone in the street was shocked, confused and alarmed at the whole thing.”

The two officers attempted to arrest Baril after his appearance matched the witness descriptions of the attacker who carried out a string of hammer attacks in New York’s busiest tourist areas on Monday.

Four attacks over a six-hour period between the areas of Union Square and Herald Square.

The victims who ranged from the ages of 20 to 34 were reportedly attacked from behind and struck on the head.

US media report that New York police have said that Baril suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and was reportedly living in a home for adults with mental illness when the attacks were carried out.

The NYPD have reportedly also disclosed that he has eight prior arrests, which include an attack on a worker in New York KFC restaurant and an assault on a police officer.

According to US media, investigations by police on Wednesday also allegedly revealed a string of “disturbing” social media posts apparently made by Baril over the last twelve months.

Last May, Baril apparently posted a picture of a bloody hammer, according to US police.