Man shot in the face by police after he charges at patrol car with knife on Long island

A Nassau County police officer shot a man in the face who smashed a patrol car window with a knife while officers were inside Monday night.

The incident started around 10 p.m. when police received a call reporting that a man was assaulted with a gun in the New Cassel and Westbury area on Long Island. 

A separate call then came through about a man "acting erratically" and threatening to stab people with a large knife. Law enforcement officials found an individual matching the suspect's description near a wooded area.

As officers drove up to the suspect, the person came running out from the bushes. The man smashed the passenger side window of the patrol car where an officer was sitting.

"He turns as the knife is coming through the window and he fires a couple of times at the individual," said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. 

The suspect was not hit and ran toward the back of the car. Then, the officer driving the car got out and shot the man in the face. 

The bullet went through one side of his jaw and out the other side, Ryder said. 

The suspect was hospitalized and is recovering. The two officers involved were also treated at the hospital.

The suspect was identified as 27-year-old Adrian Thompson. 

The only other interaction law enforcement has had with Thompson was in April. Ryder said police got a call about Thompson acting irrationally and possibly sniffing glue.

"This young man was also a medical student at Columbia at one point, so he's a well-educated individual, obviously going through some depression, according to the parents," Ryder said. 

Thompson is being charged with menacing a police officer, and upgraded charges are pending, according to Ryder.