The attack did not take place near the areas in the borough where George Floyd demonstrations were held.

At around 11:45 p.m., the suspect walked up to a police officer and stabbed him in the neck. Other officers then responded to the scene, with one pulling out his gun. The suspect tried to grab hold of the gun, and in the struggle the gun was fired multiple times, hitting one officer in the leg and another in the arm, police sources told the Post.

“It appears to be a complete cowardly, despicable, unprovoked attack on a defenseless police officer,” NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea said at a press conference following the attack. “I think we are all fed up with — what we’re saying is this violence has to stop.”

New York City has seen massive demonstrations following the death of George Floyd, an African-American man killed during his arrest by four Minneapolis police officers. Those demonstrations have devolved into rioting and looting in some instances, with looters targeting upscale Manhattan neighborhoods as well as areas in outer boroughs including Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Police have managed to contain the looting for the past two nights, after New York officials placed the city under an 8 p.m. curfew.

“I’m watching my men and women out there dealing with stuff that no cop should ever have to deal with, bricks, bottles, rocks, hit in the face with bottles and continuing to go forward to make an arrest,” NYPD chief Terrence Monahan told the Post on Monday.