A 19-year-old man has been arrested on attempted murder charges, New York City authorities said on Jan. 2.
Trevor Bickford of Wells, Maine, was taken into custody and charged with attempted murder of a police officer and attempted assault, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) official confirmed to The Epoch Times on Jan. 2.
Bickford couldn’t be reached for comment, and it was unclear whether he'd retained a lawyer.
Bickford is accused of attacking three officers in Times Square as crowds gathered on New Year’s Eve for the ball drop. He attempted to strike an officer in the head with a machete before hitting two other officers with the weapon, officials said.
One officer, an eight-year veteran, suffered a head laceration while the other suffered a skull fracture and a laceration, police officials said. The second officer had just graduated from the police academy.
When the suspect struck one of the officers, the officer fired their service weapon, striking the suspect in the shoulder.
All were taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment. The officers were in stable condition after the attack, Mayor Eric Adams told reporters.
The attack was “unprovoked,” NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters.
FBI officials were working with NYPD officers to investigate the attack.
Michael Driscoll, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, told reporters that agents believe the suspect acted alone.
“There’s nothing to indicate otherwise,” he said.
The FBI declined to comment on reports that Bickford was on a bureau watchlist before the incident.
Authorities haven’t detailed an actual or suspected motive.
The attack took place about two hours before midnight in one of the busiest neighborhoods in the city. Times Square is a tourist magnet known for its New Year’s Eve celebration.
The event wasn’t canceled due to the attack, and officers who responded and weren’t injured went back to patrolling, officials said.
Tribute
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Bickford’s mother posted a tribute to the teenager on his birthday in July, the Portland Press-Herald reported.“So proud and lucky to be able to call you my son. (You’re) an old soul and you amaze me every day with all that you enjoy to explore and do,” she wrote. “I am so beyond proud of the man you are becoming.”
Images the mother posted to Facebook showed Bickford wearing a head covering and reports said he'd become a Muslim.
Bickford’s father died suddenly in 2018, according to an obituary. The obituary said the elder Bickford, 41, and his wife raised three sons in Wells.
“Tom played a very active roll [sic] their lives, and could often be found coaching them at football and wrestling,” the obituary stated. “Although his style of coaching his boys could be hard at times, he loved his boys more than anything.”
