NEW YORK – A suspect attacked NYPD officers with a machete near the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square Saturday night. Two officers suffered head injuries and a third sustained an unspecified injury before an officer shot the attacker and police were able to take him into custody, according to reports.
The suspect has been identified as 19-year-old Trevor Bickford from Maine. He is an alleged Islamic extremist, several law enforcement sources confirmed Sunday, according to the New York Post.
Police were assigned to the New Year’s Eve detail in Times Square when two of them were struck in the head “with a large knife” about 10 p.m. Investigators are looking at the crime as a possible targeted attack, sources said.
A high-level police source told Fox News Digital that Bickford was being watched by the FBI’s counterterrorism task force in the weeks leading up to the New Year’s Eve attack. The source also said Bickford recently converted to Islam and authorities received information that he expressed interest in going to Afghanistan.
Police identified Trevor Bickford, 19, as the suspect who attacked NYPD officers with a machete. (
The initial officer injured by the suspect was engaged in his first night of policing, Fox reported. He was slashed in the head. A Staten Island officer suffered blunt force trauma to the head. They were both taken to Bellevue Hospital. A third officer suffered unknown injuries and was taken to Mt. Sinai West.
During the melee on Eighth Avenue between 51st and 52nd Street, an officer fired at the suspect, striking him in the shoulder. The attacker was neutralized and taken into custody, sources said.
Bickford, who resides in Wells, Maine, was transported to Bellevue Hospital for medical treatment.
Police officials said all three injured officers are expected to recover from their injuries.
Charges are pending against Bickford who remains hospitalized Sunday morning, according to law enforcement authorities.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell described the weapon as a “large knife.” NYPD News released a photo that showed it was 18 inches long and clearly has the appearance of a machete.
The officers who were attacked were outside the security screening zone, Sewell said.
Although Bickford does not appear to have a prior criminal record, law enforcement sources said the FBI in Boston has an open case on him and he is on something called a guardian list because of his radicalization and his desire to fight in Afghanistan, Fox reported.
“I want to be clear that the FBI, through the Joint Terrorism Task Force, is working very closely with [NYPD] to determine the nature of this attack,” the FBI’s Michael Driscoll said at a Sunday morning press conference. “And we will run every lead to ground. I also want to be very clear, as you’ve heard said tonight previously, this is very much an ongoing investigation so our ability to talk about specifics is limited.”
NYC Mayor Eric Adams praised the response of the officers during Sunday morning’s press conference. Moreover, he noted that each officer injured in the unprovoked attack is in stable condition and expected to recover.
“And as we do a preliminary review of the body cam video, we see how well these officers executed the plan that was put in place by the New York City Police Department in ensuring we protect those who came here to bring in a new year,” he told members of the press.
