The 19-year-old accused of attacking three police officers with a machete on New Year’s Eve near Times Square has been charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and two counts of attempted assault.
Trevor Bickford, from Wells, Maine, attacked the officers unprovoked after taking a train to the city on Dec. 29. His mother and aunt recently notified law enforcement about their concerns that he was gravitating toward dangerous Islamist ideologies, law enforcement sources said.
Police found the suspect’s backpack at the scene, which contained a diary, sources said.
The final diary entry indicated the suspect thought he would die in the attack and asked for burial according to Islamic tradition, the sources said.
Bickford has made statements to investigators that strengthen the belief the attack was motivated by Islamic extremism, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Bickford told police he took a sip of water and shouted “Allahu Akhbar” before attacking the officers with a knife, sources said.
The knife was purchased in Maine, where Bickford also withdrew thousands of dollars in cash at some point before taking Amtrak to New York. The withdrawal and the purchase suggest premeditation, sources said.
Upon arrival in New York, the suspect made a large cash donation to the Bowery Mission, which investigators believe was meant to satisfy a Muslim tenet of charity.
From there, it’s believed Bickford slept in a park in Forest Park, Queens. Police recovered a sleeping bag linked to the suspect, sources 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.
The three officers were released from the hospital on Sunday.
New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters during a press conference Sunday that the incident occurred just after 10 p.m. on Saturday near West 52nd Street and Eighth Avenue, outside the secure area that had been set up for New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Sewell said the attack was “unprovoked” and that Bickford attempted to strike one officer over the head with the machete.
“The male then struck two additional officers in the head with the machete,” she said. One of the officers fired their weapon, striking the suspect in the shoulder, according to Sewell. The suspect was then taken into custody. (ABC)