NEW YORK (AFP) - Police shot and critically wounded a man in New York on Wednesday who was suspected of attacking seven people with a hammer, injuring four.

A New York Police Department spokeswoman said officers spotted the suspect, still holding a hammer, near the busy Penn Station.

"Two officers tried to arrest him. He attacked an officer. Her partner shot him. He is in critical condition," the New York Police Department spokeswoman said of the suspect, who was taken to hospital.

The 30-year-old man was alleged to have attacked seven people in Union Square on Monday, injuring three women and a man, the police spokeswoman said.