QUEENS - Two men in gas masks and police uniforms dropped CS-gas canisters and opened fire in the midst of an ongoing trial Monday afternoon, killing the defendant and wounding three bystanders, authorities said. Jonathan Hofacker, 67, had been on trial for failure to register himself as an Evolved; while on the stand, he was fatally shot in the head by assailants who later announced themselves as members of Humanis First.
Those who received injuries, including a detective with the NYPD, were all shot when they either attempted to interfere or presented themselves as visible threats, one young Evolved man reportedly 'floating' up near the ceiling beams and another unidentified woman 'throwing gusts of wind' at the attacking pair. Witnesses reported a brutal mutilation of Hofacker's facial features using the butt of a shotgun before both assailants fled, tossing a tear gas grenade in their wake.
The lives of at least one of the victims may have been saved by the presence of yet a fourth Evolved person on the premises— a healer, according to Martha Ogden, spokeswoman for the Queens County Courthouse. Using his ability, the man allegedly stabilized those with critical injuries in time for an ambulance to arrive, but slipped away from the scene before he could be positively identified or reached for comment.
Investigation into the attack is ongoing.