Cops attacked with machete near Times Square

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A young Maine man who recently became fixated with radical Islamic jihadism wounded two NYPD cops with a massive curved knife just outside the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration, fracturing a rookie officer’s skull before being shot by police, law enforcement sources said Sunday.

Cops and federal investigators are now taking a hard look at the internet history of the 19-year-old suspect, identified by sources as Trevor Bickford of Wells, Maine, to determine if terrorism motivated the bloody holiday attack, law enforcement sources said.

“It’s being investigated as a terror attack, 100%,” one high-ranking NYPD official told the Daily News. “He radicalized about a month ago. He’s not affiliated with any group. It’s more like a lone-wolf situation.”

Bickford expressed extremist beliefs on social media, the official said, adding, “He made threats that he was going to attack a public official.”

The teen tried to swing a machetelike blade into a police officer’s head near Eighth Ave. and 52nd St. about 10:11 p.m. on Saturday, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. He then whacked two other officers in the head with the giant blade.

he rookie officer, identified by sources as Paul Cozzolino, who graduated from the Police Academy on Friday, suffered a “large laceration” to his head and a skull fracture his first day on the job.

The other wounded cop, an eight-year veteran identified by sources as Officer Louis Iorio, suffered a cut to his head, Sewell said.

“One of the officers fired their service weapon, striking the subject in the shoulder,” Sewell said.

Police at the scene quickly took Bickford into custody.

The officers were taken to Bellevue Hospital, as was the suspect. All three were in stable condition, Sewell said.

Bickford came to New York via Amtrak last Thursday, according to ABC News.

He was staying in a homeless shelter in the city, police sources said.

Cops recovered a bag belonging to him in which they found an apologetic note addressed to his mother and family. Bickford felt he hadn’t been a good enough person and urged them to accept Allah, he wrote.

“He seemed worried they would not take his advice,” the source said.

He has no arrest history, but his mother and aunt became concerned about his turn toward jihadist ideologies and reached out to law enforcement officials, which put him on the radar of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, ABC News reported, citing law enforcement sources.

Authorities were still determining Sunday whether Bickford will face local or federal charges.

Police have charged a 19-year-old with two counts of attempted murder over an attack on three police officers near Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Trevor Bickford - who was also charged with two counts of attempted assault - travelled to NYC by train from Maine before the attack, police said.

The three officers - one of whom suffered a fractured skull after being struck by the machete - were all released from hospital on Sunday.

Mr Bickford is believed by investigators to have travelled to the city on 29 December after withdrawing thousands of dollars in cash from his bank account and purchasing the knife later used in the attack.

He allegedly launched his attack shortly before 22:00 local time on Saturday near an area that had been set up for New Year's Eve celebrations, Ms Sewell said.

Mr Bickford remains in hospital under police custody because of the injuries sustained in the attack.

According to US media reports, his mother and aunt had reported him to the FBI over their fear that he had been radicalised by extreme Islamists.

CNN, citing law enforcement sources, reported that was interviewed by FBI agents in Maine in mid-December after he said he wanted to travel overseas and help fellow Muslims.

The network also reported that a backpack found at the scene contained a diary in which he expressed his desire to join the Afghan Taliban and believed he would die in the attack.

— The machete-wielding man who allegedly attacked police officers near Times Square on New Year’s Eve was motivated by Islamist extremism, New York City prosecutors said Wednesday.

Trevor Bickford, 19, traveled to New York “to kill people and carry out jihad,” the Manhattan District Attorney’s office told a state court.

Bickford — from Wells, a small coastal town in Maine — was remanded in custody Wednesday at the government’s request following his arraignment on assault and attempted murder charges.

Assistant DA Lucy Nicholas told the hearing that Bickford “specifically traveled” to New York via Boston with the intention of murdering government employees.

Following his arrest, Bickford told detectives that he shouted “Allahu Akbar” before the attack, according to the prosecutors’ complaint.

“I walked up and hit him over the head with a kukri. I charged another officer but dropped the knife and I tried to get the police officer’s gun but couldn’t,” Bickford told police.

Nicholas said Bickford also stated that “all government officials” were a target for him “as they cannot be proper Muslims because the United States government supports Israel.”

CNN, citing anonymous sources, reported that Bickford was carrying a diary in which he had expressed his desire to join the Afghan Taliban and die as a martyr.

It's interesting that islamic terrorist attacks on US soil decreased during the Trump era despite Trump's openly anti-muslim rhetoric.

Did islamic terrorists benefit from Trump destabilising the US?