The alleged Islamic extremist who stabbed a rookie NYPD cop within the head with a machete in Occasions Sq. on New 12 months’s Eve has been pictured.
Trevor Bickford, 19, from Wells, Maine, is seen in unsuspecting pictures shared by his mom on Fb from his birthday in the summertime.
She refers to him as an ‘outdated soul’ and repeatedly tells him how a lot she loves him after he left their residence for Seattle in September.
Her social media additionally reveals her different son Devin is within the US Military, with him pictured alongside the suspected jihadist in a single shot.
It comes after Bickford allegedly slashed two officers with a machete on eighth Avenue close to Occasions Sq. round 10pm final evening.
One other officer shot him within the shoulder and he was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, together with the 2 cops. They’re all anticipated to outlive.
There seems to be no felony report for Bickford, police sources mentioned. However they are saying the FBI in Boston do have an open case on him. He’s on a ‘guardian checklist’ due to his radicalization. The New York Publish experiences that Bickford apparently made statements to his aunt a couple of need to go combat in Afghanistan, and she or he notified the authorities.
The assault occurred simply outdoors of the high-security zone the place 1000’s of revelers had been screened for weapons as they ready to ring in 2023.
Trevor Bickford, 19, of Wells, Maine, allegedly approached a gaggle of NYPD cops close to Occasions Sq. on New 12 months’s Eve and slashed two of the cops with a machete
Bickford is pictured along with his mom in publish she shared on Fb gushing about her son’s transfer to Seattle simply two months in the past
Bickford allegedly slashed two officers with this machete on eighth Avenue close to Occasions Sq. round 10pm final evening the place 1000’s of revelers ready to ring within the new 12 months
Each officers had been slashes of their heads, together with the rookie cop who suffered a a cranium fracture together with an 8-year veteran who had a head laceration.
At a latest press convention, Mayor Eric Adams mentioned he had spoken to one of many wounded officers as he was being stitched up on the hospital.
‘He was in good spirits,’ Adams mentioned. ‘He understood that his position saved lives of New Yorkers immediately.’
One of many injured, Paul, had simply graduated from the academy on Friday, is definitely assigned to a precinct in Staten Island however was pulled into Manhattan for the New 12 months Eve celebrations, experiences the New York Publish.
The assault was ‘unprovoked,’ Adams mentioned on the press convention in a single day. Each Sewell and Adams careworn there is no such thing as a ‘energetic risk’ to the group. The festivities continued uninterrupted.
The slashing unfolded simply simply outdoors the safety zone in Occasions Sq., the place 1000’s gathered for the annual New 12 months’s Eve ball drop. Police screened revelers for contraband equivalent to alcohol, massive luggage, and weapons.
A police supply instructed the Publish, ‘No backpacks or umbrellas in Time Sq.. They forgot to say machetes.’
Employees at a halal stand close to the scene instructed the New York Day by day Information that they heard what they thought had been explosions or gunshots,
‘I heard the sounds solely — Bang! Bang!’ Prodip Bisws defined. ‘Individuals had been working, oh my god, they had been working.’
A smiling Bickford is pictured in lots of his mom’s social media posts
Bickford (left) is pictured along with his household, alongside along with his brother who’s within the US Military
One other officer fired on the suspect, hitting him within the shoulder. All the injured had been taken to Bellevue Hospital the place they’re in severe however steady situation, officers have mentioned
Video from the scene reveals revelers being hurried from the scene by cops making an attempt to regulate the scene, positioned at 52nd avenue and eighth avenue. Officers may be seen screaming at pedestrians to maneuver away from the crime scene.
Whereas a witness instructed the newspaper, ‘They moved the barricades actually quick. He was a police officer in entrance of the barricade space and he moved it for police vehicles to maneuver quick — and that is when the barricade fell and obtained hit by the automobile. He obtained double whammied.’
An investigation was underway to pinpoint a motive for the assault, however authorities mentioned they did not imagine there was any ongoing risk to the general public.
Michael Driscoll, the assistant director in control of the FBI’s New York subject workplace, mentioned they imagine the attacker acted alone.
Authorities have instructed NBC NewYork that they wanting into whether or not the suspect had beforehand posted what they referred to as jihadist writings on-line and after which chance traveled to New York Metropolis to focus on police.
Bickford’s mom has a slew of photographs on her Fb web page the place she gushes in regards to the 19-year-old, calling him an ‘outdated soul’ and says she’s fortunate to be his mom.
On July 28, she shared a photograph of Bickford and wrote: ‘Pleased nineteenth Birthday Trevor. So proud and fortunate to have the ability to name you my son. Your an outdated soul and also you amaze me on daily basis with all that you simply take pleasure in to discover and do. I like that you haven’t any worry of attempting new issues, and also you actually are the perfect brother ever. I’m so past happy with the person you’re turning into, I like you.’
Bickford’s mom has a slew of photographs on her Fb web page the place she gushes in regards to the 19-year-old, calling him an ‘outdated soul’ and says she’s fortunate to be his mom
Images posted on-line by his household present Bickford along with his brothers or along with his canine
The NYPD mounts a large safety operation yearly to maintain the New 12 months’s Eve crowd protected. 1000’s of officers are deployed within the space, together with many new recruits to the pressure.
The blocks the place the most important crowds collect to see performances and the midnight ball drop can solely be accessed by checkpoints the place officers use metal-detecting wands to display for weapons. ‘
Giant luggage and coolers are banned. Boundaries are set as much as stop car assaults within the safe space.
The safety perimeter can solely prolong to this point, although. The assault happened on eighth Avenue, which is commonly full of thick crowds navigating across the frozen zone or looking for one of many safe entrances.
The assault was ‘unprovoked,’ Adams mentioned on the press convention in a single day. Each Sewell and Adams careworn there is no such thing as a ‘energetic risk’ to the group
