The FBI evaluated Bickford when his mother informed the agency he was gravitating toward Islamic extremism, officials said. Investigators are interested in what brought him to the park in a remote part of the city and whether he intended to meet anyone. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply. Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? "I cannot even describe how bad it was. News Ukraine Russia Kharkiv Attack. Wake up to the day's most important news. Bickford, of Wells, Maine, allegedly approached the officers on Manhattan's 8th Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets armed with a large knife he used to swing at three different officers, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at an overnight press conference. Anyone can read what you share. He took an Amtrak train to New York City on Dec. 29, the sources said. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The incident occurred just after 10 p.m. on Saturday near West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue, outside the secure area that had been set up for New Year's Eve celebrations, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters at a news conference at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital. Bickford has no prior arrests. Still, police allege he was able to carry out what could be New York's latest terror attack. Defense attorneys with The Legal Aid Society requested that he be released on his own recognizance, saying police questioned him for days without a lawyer present and pointing to his lack of criminal history. "I heard a lot of people screaming and yelling and I saw the sirens, and it was total chaos.". Then we pay respect and honor the fallen as we visit the September 11th Museum and Memorial. Join The Clinton Senior Center & Best of Times Travel on this wonderful patriotic program. Videos from the scene appeared to show revelers jogging through the rain as they were directed away from the scene by columns of police officers. He joined CBS2 News in November 2017. "And it goes on to lay out, basically, a last will and testament: How to divide my belongings, what family members to give things to, where he wants to be buried-'not in the land of non-believers.'". I wanted to kill them, Mr. Rojas told a traffic enforcement agent at the time, according to a criminal complaint. In Jamaica Queens in 2014, a radicalized man named Zale Thompson attacked three officerswithout warning with a hatchet, nearly killing one of the officers. NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The Maine teen charged in the attack on three NYPD officers has made statements to investigators that strengthen the belief their attack was motivated by Islamic extremism, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The man, who made pro-jihadist statements from his hospital bed overnight, is believed to have traveled from Wells to lower Manhattan on Thursday mainly via Amtrak, those sources said. "Those officers discharged one round. IE 11 is not supported. A video of Ukrainian citizens praying in the town square of Kharkiv after Russia invaded the country has gone viral . One is an eight-year veteran, and one of the others is a rookie officer who just graduated from the police academy on Friday. Moments after the attack, Bickford was shot in the shoulder by police. And Mr. Rojas, he said, deserved punishment. Upon arrival in New York the suspect made a large donation with the cash to the Bowery Mission, which investigators believe was meant to satisfy a Muslim tenet of charity. He caused cuts and fractured one of their skulls and tried to injure a third officer. NEW YORK --The suspect in the New Year's Eve machete attack just outside theTimes Squarecelebration was charged Monday with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault. "But the alternative is we continue to experience the weekly shootings or other mass casualty attacks that we seem to be experiencing today. Times Square bomber gets life prison term. He seemed to be in good spirits and said he is feeling OK, resting up at home with his family. The suspect said in the diary he regrets disappointing his mother; he also wrote that he wanted his brothers to join him in his fight for Islam, they said. He said a better approach, increasingly adopted by state and local agencies, is to "look at individuals holistically" when they come to the attention of law enforcement. The NYPD counterterrorism bureau is investigating the New Year's Eve attack in conjunction with the FBI. ABC News' Josh Margolin, Keith Harden, Patricio Chile and Mark Crudele contributed to this report. "All three of the officers are in stable conditions and there are no critical threats to New Yorkers at this time.". They believe it belonged to Bickford. Times Square knife attack suspect wanted to kill uniformed officers and 'carry out jihad,' prosecutors say 19-year-old suspect allegedly yelled 'Allahu akbar' before charging at NYPD officers. Police working New Year's Eve detail in Times Square were wounded by a machete-wielding man who struck multiple officers in the head in what law enforcement are investigating as a possible targeted attack. Three police officers were wounded in the attack by a 19-year-old male suspect who was shot in the shoulder and arrested, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a press conference with Mayor Eric Adams. He was court-martialed in 2013 and pleaded guilty to drunken driving, failure to pay a debt, drunk and disorderly conduct and communicating a threat. Officials expected as many as 1 million people to crowd the area. An eight-year veteran suffered a head laceration and a recent police academy graduate endured a skull fracture, she said. "The attack follows a series of media announcements and propaganda from ISIS affiliates globally that were encouraging supporters to conduct lone actor attacks on targets such as airports and security services," ISD analysts wrote. Headed up by "Bike New York," the bicycles for illegal aliens program is working in direct partnership with the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, the New York City Department of Transportation, and other government entities to get bikes into the hands of illegals. There was nothing, however, to prevent him from boarding an Amtrak train to New York. From there, it's believed Bickford slept in a park in Forest Park, Queens. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. They said that after his arrest, he said he was self-radicalized and that he had converted his beliefs about three or four months ago, officials said. The attack happened a little after 10 p.m. about eight blocks from Times Square, just outside the high-security zone where revelers are screened for weapons. NEW YORK The Pakistani immigrant who tried to detonate a car bomb on a busy Saturday night in Times Square accepted a life sentence . When Mr. Rojas returned to the Bronx, friends said, he seemed paranoid and irritable, expressing scorn for the government and railing against taxes, parking tickets and police stops. Mar 1, 2023. In 2012, he was arrested near a base in Florida and charged with battery after an incident in which he was said to have assaulted a cab driver. Another video obtained by CBS2 shows more than 20 police officer running on 52nd Street toward the crime scene. Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Merrick B. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States, Christopher A. Wray, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI, and Keechant L. Sewell, the Commissioner of the New York City Police . Investigators have been reviewing Bickford's online postings, which included some mentions of Islamic extremist views, a law enforcement official said. At least one officer fired upon the suspect, striking him in the shoulder. "They feel disconnected from community, theyre angry, they're searching for a sense of life meaning, they come from dysfunctional family backgrounds, they spend a considerable amount of time online viewing content placed there by terrorist groups, by extremists, content regarding past shootings and other ideological or extremist content until ultimately they connect with something or a blend of beliefs, or a blend of beliefs and grievances. The family, he said, would not get to tell the court about the impact of his daughters death. "Somebody's yelling, 'Calm down, calm down,' because everybody's on edge," Dyachkin said. One of the injured officers, an eight-year veteran of the NYPD, suffered a laceration to the head, officials said. The horrifying episode unfolded at 9:40 a.m . There was Caroline Johns, an executive assistant, who was out for lunch; she suffered a punctured lung. Confetti falls at midnight on the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration, in New York You can always.. US One News Page: Wednesday, 23 September 2020 . Outside the courthouse, Thomas Elsman, the father of Alyssa, said that the verdict was more than disappointing. Here's a rundown of this wonderful program: Day One: After an early morning departure we arrive at West . If the court finds that the defendant has a dangerous mental disorder, it must then issue an order committing the defendant to the custody of the state commissioner of mental health. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. The person got additional mental health care.". "The last entry in there says, 'This is likely to be my final entry,' it's dated December 31, 2022," said CNN Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst and former deputy NYPD Commissioner John Miller. 4 min read. Should authorities determine the attack was motivated by an Islamist ideology it would make it the first-ever terror incident associated with New Year's Eve in Times Square, something the NYPD and FBI have long feared and prepared for. It was very, very terrifying to the public and people that work here," Sicilliano said. This 26-Year-Old Pays $0 to Live in a Luxury Tiny Home' She Built for $35,000 in Her Backyard Take a Look Inside, Kylie Jenner's Ex, Rapper Travis Scott, Wanted in $12,000 Manhattan Nightclub Mayhem, Winter Storm May Bring More NYC Snow Friday and a Complex Mess to Millions: What to Expect. The FBI determined Bickford allegedly wanted to fight in Afghanistan and placed him on a federal watch list to prevent him from traveling overseas, Galati said. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters) A man accused of attacking police with a machete near New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve was arrested on charges of attempting to murder officers, police said. Bickford only recently considered New York as a target, officials allege, and decided to go forward with the attack once he got to the city after taking an Amtrak train from Boston on Dec. 29, according to law enforcement officials. For now, we ask the public to refrain from drawing hasty conclusions and to respect the privacy of our clients family.". Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. The suspect was then shot in the shoulder and wounded by police. His name is in a federal law enforcement database, they said, and he was known to investigators for his social media postings. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? said Isles. One News Page. Michael Driscoll, the assistant director in charge of the FBIs New York field office, said the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force in New York City was investigating, but investigators believe the attacker acted alone. The NYPD released an image of a weapon that officials recovered at the scene. All rights reserved, charged with trying to murder NYPD officers in a New Year's Eve machete attack, Relative Alerted to Machete Man's Alleged Jihadist Views Before NYE Cop Attack: Sources. Pour en savoir plus sur notre utilisation de vos informations, veuillez consulter notre Politique relative la vie prive et notre Politique en matire de cookies. For Estonia, the news represents a significant turning point in a long and difficult history for the country's Jewish community. Mayor Hidetaka . Global Edition. Should authorities determine the attack was motivated by an Islamist ideology, it would make it the first terror incident associated with New Year's Eve in Times Square, authorities said. Mayor Eric Adams said at the news conferencethat he had spoken to one of the wounded officers. ground.news. Investigators were probing whether he stayed at a homeless shelter downtown, the four officials said. First published on January 2, 2023 / 12:31 PM. The NYPD released an image of a weapon, saying it had been recovered at the scene. AP. So everybody kind of knows everybody.". Bickford was shot in the shoulder amid the chaos that ensued. Sewell asked any witnesses to contact the NYPD. Steering a person in a different direction early on may mean offering assistance to someone who needs it before that person concludes violence is necessary.". Thursday, March 2, 2023 Mike Driscoll, assistant director for the New York FBI field office, said at the press conference that agents are working very closely with the NYPD to determine the nature of this attack. Driscoll declined to offer any further details. He stayed at a hotel on the Bowery, senior police officials said, and may have spent time before the attack in Queens. Photos of Ukrainian civilians and servicemen stopped office workers as they returned from lunch in Seoul on Friday. And there was Thomas Henry, a retired Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker who was with family; he was hit in the head and has lasting cognitive issues. Authorities in New York City say the 19-year-old suspect who allegedly attacked three police officers with a machete at a New Years Eve celebration near Times Square, striking two of them, now faces terrorismcharges. Since 9/11, there have been at least 10 terror-type attacks targeting uniformed officers with knives. Trevor Bickford, 19, has been charged with attempted murder for attacking New York City police officers on New Year's Eve near Times Square. Anderson Lee Aldrich, who allegedly killed five people and wounded 17 others at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs in November, had been arrested in 2021 on allegations of making a bomb threat that led to the evacuation of about 10 homes. The male then struck two additional officers in the head with the machete. Sewell said the attack was unprovoked. The bomb never went off, and Faisal. The attack happened near 52nd Street and 8th Avenue just after 10 p.m. Saturday, less than two hours before the ball dropped in Times Square to ring in 2023. "The way you know they (the FBI) took the traditional approach is they viewed the primary threat as his travel to Afghanistan," Cohen said. Updated on: January 2, 2023 / 11:33 PM / CBS New York NEW YORK -- The suspect in the New Year's Eve machete attack just outside the Times Square celebration was charged Monday with two counts. After the attack, police officials said, Mr. Rojas claimed he had smoked PCP. Sewell said the man dealt two of the officers blows to the head, giving an 8-year veteran a head laceration and a recent police academy graduate a skull fracture. Primary Menu Sections Skip to search results In 2014, a radicalized man attacked three officers with a hatchet without warning in Queens. Mr. Rojas spent two months inside a Navy brig and in 2014 received what the Navy called an other than honorable discharge. He remained hospitalized on Wednesday, but was out of bed to face a judge via video. The injured police were out of the hospital and expected to recover. Neither the FBI nor New York police were on the lookout for any other suspects, officials said. They are expected to recover. He understood that his role saved lives of New Yorkers today.". He remains hospitalized. All Rights Reserved. His trial, which took place over several weeks, centered on his mental condition at the time of the incident. This is the weapon that was recovered at the scene. Associated Press. By Gerrard Kaonga On 2/24/22 at 5:33 AM EST. Thomas Galati, NYPD Chief of Intelligence and Counterterrorism, said the suspect in Saturday night's Times Square attack, was interviewed by FBI agents last month in Maine after his mother reported concerns that her son was possibly becoming radicalized. "Earlier today, Mr. Bickford was arraigned from Bellevue Hospital after languishing in NYPD custody for nearly four days despite a well-established court requirement that an arraignment take place within 24 hours of arrest," Legal Aid said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. Times Square New Year's Eve attack: Suspect arrested and faces attempted murder charges | CNN Suspect in Times Square machete attack on New Year's Eve arrested and faces attempted. A . I was just shocked, you know?" While a motive remains under investigation, authorities are not ruling out the possibility that the suspect came to New York City specifically to attack police officers at the Times Square ball drop, law enforcement sources told ABC News. Senior officials briefed on the attack described Bickford earlier this week as a "homegrown violent extremist motivated in part by Salafi-extremism." The attack and sound of a gunshot briefly sent some people in the crowd running, but the incident did not impact the festivities in Times Square, which continued uninterrupted. Trevor Bickford, charged in the attack on 3 NYPD officers near Times Square, may have been motivated by Islamic extremism. Federal and local authorities are digging into the background of 19-year-old Trevor Bickford, who allegedly attacked a group of NYPD officers outside a security screening zone in Times Square just after 10 p.m. Saturday, multiple law enforcement sources said. "Like, I'm sure in the back of all of our minds, now this could be a target for, you know, shooting. Witnesses said the driver, Richard Rojas, tried to flee but was quickly apprehended. He also allegedly said he considered all government officials targets because they couldn't be proper Muslims given the United States government's support of Israel. "We're still, from an investigator's perspective, looking for that Mohamed Atta," said Cohen, referring to one of the hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A local pizza shop employee said panicked revelers fled amid the chaos. While Bickford was placed on a federal no-fly list, he took an Amtrak train to New York allegedly intent on attacking police officers, authorities said. A diary found by investigators may have indicated the suspect believed he was on a suicide mission: He left notes about who would inherit belongings and where he wanted to be buried, the sources said. He doesnt go to jail, Mr. Elsman said. The blocks where the biggest crowds gather to see performances and the midnight ball drop can only be accessed through checkpoints where officers use metal-detecting wands to screen for weapons. ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream, 'Eyewitness to 2022,' examining the stories that defined the year, Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. A deranged homeless man allegedly shoved an Asian woman to her death in front of an oncoming subway train Saturday morning in Times Square, police said. Police working New Year's Eve detail in Times Square were wounded by a machete-wielding man who struck multiple officers in the head in what law enforcement are investigating as a possible targeted attack. SHARE. neighbor Steve Isles said. Mr. Rojas killed one woman and injured a score of people as he sped through one of the citys busiest areas. Trevor Bickford, 19, suspected in the machete attack on three New York City police officers near Times Square on New Year's Eve, is pictured here in this undated photo. She said he traveled to New York by way of Boston roughly three or four days ago. Nicholas said Bickford at first indicated he wanted to travel internationally but decided instead to come to New York to carry out "jihad." 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