Early this morning an individual entered a NYC synagogue and violently stabbed a Jewish rabbinical student while the student was praying. In a dramatic encounter caught on camera first with eyewitnesses and then with arriving officers, the knife-welding attacker moved to recover his weapon and continue the attack.
Officials are investigating the attacker's motivations (possible significant mental health issues or potential anti-Semetic fervor). Regardless of the reasons the video shows extreme tactical patience on the part of the responding officers as they attempted to defuse the situation and take the attacker into custody. Note the extreme proximity between the primary officer and attacker. Many observers would question whether the officer placed himself at elevated risk by some of his actions. Any thoughts?