...maybe the "suspect" (ain't that a joke) was "inspired" by that incident in London where the UK soldier (UNarmed) was attacked on the street and beheaded:
"A man, believed to be a serving soldier, was attacked and beheaded with a machete in broad day light this afternoon in Woolwich, South London by two men in what is suspected to be a terror attack. The soldier was attacked with knives and meat cleavers following a car crash. Two black men in a blue Vauxhall car rammed into the soldier on John Wilson Street SE18, then jumped out of their car and started attacking him with meat cleavers. An eye witness said the attackers were "chopping this guy to pieces, literally hacking at something like it was a piece of meat". 05/22/2013." Posted May 23, 2013 by vlogger
--
http://www.military.com/video/opera...ish-soldier-beheaded-in-london/2402785809001/
[a video of the guy right after doing that -- 'splaining hisself, I guess -- is also on the page posted above. Later, I believe both "suspects" attacked the police who arrived, too.]
...except in this NYC case, one guy attacking a group of ARMED cops sounds like he expected to die...which is also characteristic of Islamic Suicide Bombers (killers). The important thing for them is the "political statement" -- if any in this case. Aside from the "bonus" terror factor. Since he's dead, there may never be an explanation why he did it.
And that soldier in Canada shot while he was on guard (with an EMPTY MAGAZINE as per usual -- just window-dressing for tourists) -- yet no one mentions the obvious: Maybe guards should be FOR REAL! If HE had been, he might have seen it coming and could have defended himself. Not picking on Canada, however, I remember being on guard in the US Army in the late 1960s, ALSO with no ammo in the magazine (or even ON me). Governments didn't trust their soldiers being armed even back THEN, let alone nowadays.
Tell you what: What you need with guys like the one picture below (and his buddy with him) is a gun with LIVE ammo in it, and preferably, a gun that can shoot these psycho/crackhead or political/religious zealot (or whatever) guys MULTIPLE times with a SERIOUS caliber/power-factor bullet. And liberals continue to ask why anyone "needs" a so-called "assault rifle."
Incidents like the above are good reasons. Ferguson, MO, is another (and it may not be over YET in Ferguson, as they wait to see if the cop who shot Brown will be indicted or not).
A semi-auto rifle/carbine is definitely "comfort food" in those kind of situations (or am I out in Left Field -- again).