Man accused of attacking NYPD officers with machete facing federal charges
The man accused of attacking three NYPD officers with a machete on New Year's Eve is facing federal charges, prosecutors announced. Trevor Bickford, 19, has been charged with attempting to kill officers and employees of the U.S. government, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York.
Bickford, of Maine, was previously indicted on charges including first-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted murder in the furtherance of an act of terrorism and aggravated assault on a police officer as a crime of terrorism. He is being held in New York state custody before he'll appear in front of a Manhattan federal court.
The NYPD said that Bickford is accused of targeting three officers with a machete in Times Square amid New Year's Eve celebrations. Two of the officers were hospitalized due to head injuries, police said.
Federal prosecutors said that Bickford began looking for radical Islamic ideology online in the summer of 2022. They said that Bickford even planned to travel to the Middle East to support the Taliban, and that he told a family member he wanted to be a suicide bomber.
Prosecutors said that Bickford planned to wage jihad and sought to kill U.S. officials.
In late December, investigators said Bickford traveled from Maine to New York ahead of the attack. Right before the attack, officials said that Bickford began to "hype himself up" for the attack by reciting Quran verses in his head.
They said that around 10:10 p.m. on Dec. 31, Bickford approached the officers and said "Allahu Akbar" before stabbing them with a machete-like knife called a kukri. An officer stopped the attack by shooting Bickford in the shoulder, officials said, and he was taken into custody.
A bag recovered by investigators at the scene had a book that promoted jihad and a journal where "this will likely be my last entry" was written. Another bag that investigators found, they said, contained more Islamic extremism.
If convicted on federal charges, he could face up to 80 years in prison.
