Neighbors told NBC affiliate WCSH of Portland, Maine, that the suspect is the child of divorced parents and has two siblings. Bickford ultimately decided that he would not travel overseas, and instead would wage jihad against the U.S. Government within the United States. "Unprovoked, a 19-year-old male approached an officer and attempted to strike him over the head with a machete," Sewell said. Yale's dean accepted the committee's findings in support of the woman, and ordered Montague expelled, Stern said. He criticized Yale for taking "no steps to correct these actions.". She returned later and stayed the night, Stern said. Some 20 officers responded to the scene, and Franck and Mast were later arrested following a brief standoff at the parking lot, where they had locked themselves into a restroom, LASD officials told the newspaper. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Should authorities determine the attack was motivated by an Islamist ideology, it would make it the first terror incident associated with New Years Eve in Times Square, authorities said. The lawyer framed his public statement, and the pending lawsuit, as an attempt to "correct the record.". The three officers were hospitalized in stable condition and have since been released. "[16], An investigation into the possibility of Berry being a self-radicalized Islamist terrorist was launched a week after the attack. The DOJ also said that a book inside a bag belonging to Bickford was found by authorities and contained a highlighted quote reading "Fight in the Name of Allah and in the Cause of Allah. Another mass shooting.. Suspect in Times Square machete attack on New Year's Eve arrested and faces attempted murder charges. As this video shows, though, if you cant stay out of range, get inside the range of the force multiplier. A diary found by investigators contained information about who should inherit his belongings and where he wanted to be buried should he die in the attack, the sources said. Bickford identified an NYPD officer who was isolated from civilians and other officers, took out the kukri from his backpack, declared Allahu Akbar, and attacked the officer. Trevor Thomas Bickford Traveled to Times Square for the Purpose of Killing U.S. Officials in the Name of Radical Islamic Jihad, and Used a Machete-Style Knife to Attack Three NYPD Officers Working in Coordination with the FBI to Protect the New Years Eve. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. But she kept getting released until blood finally flowed. The reformers whove given us these lunatic law-enforcement and mental-health systems claim to speak for the powerless. June 9, 2016. Bickford's radicalization led to a desire to travel to the Middle East to "support the Taliban," and began taking steps to "ally himself with the Taliban and work with the Taliban to fight against governments that, in [his] view, oppress Muslims," the DOJ said. [20][21] However, an FBI official stated that the investigation was still in its early stages and that it was too soon to jump to conclusions. After attacking that officer, Bickford charged at another officer, and tried but failed to remove that officers firearm from the officers holster. I applaud our NYPD investigators, our partners on the FBIs New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the prosecutors in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York for their combined efforts on this important case.. Federal and local law enforcement investigators are combing through the suspect's online postings, which indicate recent extremist Islamic radicalization, the sources said. A man is killed in a machete attack and two suspects shot and wounded by police in London, with footage emerging of a man with bloodied hands shouting political statements near the scene. . An entry in Bickfords journal from December 31, 2022that is, the day of his attackstates that this will likely be my last entry and that Bickford believed his brother, a soldier in the U.S. military, had joined the ranks of my enemy. A second bag that Bickford was carrying, also recovered by law enforcement near Times Square, contained a book espousing violent Islamic extremism, with certain portions highlighted, including the following: Fight in the Name of Allah and in the Cause of Allah. "Somebody's yelling, 'Calm down, calm down,' because everybody's on edge," Dyachkin said. Bickford decided that he wanted to stay in the United States and not travel to the Middle East in order to "wage jihad against the U.S. Government within the United States," authorities said in a press release. The Department of Justice says that Bickford attempted to "wage Jihad by killing U.S. Government officials," and says that in 2022 he began consuming materials "espousing radical Islamic ideology" such as "promoting the Taliban and reflecting the teachings of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, a prominent radical Islamic cleric who was a spiritual mentor of al Qaeda. He wound up with just a fractured skull and 11 stitches but, as he told The Post from his hospital bed, Even with just one blow, I could have passed away.. Crowds are not allowed access to the blocks to see performances and the midnight ball drop without being screened at checkpoints where officers use metal-detecting wands to screen for weapons. While a motive remains under investigation, authorities are not ruling out the possibility that the suspect came to New York City specifically to attack police officers at the Times Square ball drop, law enforcement sources told ABC News. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The attack was investigated as a possible instance of lone-wolf terrorism. Officers were called to the Dollar Tree on reports that a man was in the store waving a machete and had attacked a worker. IE 11 is not supported. The kukri that Bickford used in the attack, depicted below, was recovered by law enforcement from the scene of the attack: After being treated at a local hospital, during a subsequent Mirandized interview, Bickford stated, among other things, the following: Bickford is charged with four counts of attempted murder of officers and employees of the U.S. Government and persons assisting them, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. [1] He then moved on to the next table of people and then attacked Bill Foley, a musician performing at the restaurant and a friend of Baransi's. In June 2020 in Brooklyn, Dzenan Camovic stabbed an officer in the neck, stole his gun and used it to fire at responding officers in another jihadist-inspired lone wolf attack. The investigation was still in its early stages. Trevor Bickford, 19, allegedly used a machete to attack two New York City Police officers in Manhattan on New Year's Eve and is reported to have traveled from Maine. The suspect, identified only as a 19-year-old man, approached an officer and attempted to strike him over the head with a machete, Sewell said. NYC MACHETE ATTACK SUSPECT TREVOR BICKFORDS MOM ALERTED FBI TO ALLEGED EXTREMISM: REPORT. The man approached the first officer just after 10 p.m. Saturday and "attempted to strike him over the head with a machete," Sewell said. Neither the FBI nor New York police were on the lookout for any other suspects, officials said. NEW YORK A man accused of attacking police with a machete near New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve is now facing federal terrorism charges after he became determined to wage jihad against. Bickford wounded all three officers, who suffered lacerations and other injuries, and each officer had to be taken to a hospital for treatment. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. But another part is New Yorks so-dysfunctional approach to the dangerously mentally ill: We hope the courts ordered a psych evaluation of a woman wandering the streets menacing people with a machete but the system plainly failed to get her any treatment, let alone require it. Just before Bickford allegedly carried out the attacks, he said "Allahu Akbar," which is an Arabic phrase meaning "God is great," the DOJ said. He then struck two officers in the head with the blade before he was shot in the shoulder and apprehended by police, Sewell said. No legal cases, civil or criminal, are pending against him anywhere in Connecticut, according to NBC News' review of state and federal court records. Bickford, according to a criminal complaint, told authorities during his interview that he said (Allahu) Akbar before he walked up and hit the officer over the head with the weapon. A complaint is merely an allegation. Barry was killed as he attempted to attack police officers with his machete. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. [22] An Israeli flag is on display inside his restaurant. Tom Winter is a New York-based correspondent covering crime, courts, terrorism and financial fraud on the East Coast for the NBC News Investigative Unit. [4] During the police pursuit, officers ran a routine search on the license plate number of the car Barry was driving; the search triggered an alert instructing the pursuing officers to contact the local terrorism task force. Thanks for contacting us. [2] According to restaurant owner Hany Baransi, the employee told Barry that Barsani is from Israel. Market data provided by Factset. The weapon an unnamed attacker allegedly used to stab two NYC police officers. Police called to 'frenzied machete attack' in Woolwich, south-east London, in which one man, reported to be a soldier, died. [3], Barry immediately swung his machete to attack Debbie and Gerald Russell, both 43,[4] who were sitting in a booth near the front of the restaurant. You want ideally to stay out of range of the attackers force multiplier while being in range of yours! Our NYPD family is thankful our heroic officers survived this premeditated ambush, and the entire city commends them for preventing further bloodshed during one of our nations largest public events. Both federal and local law enforcement stressed at Sunday morning's news conference the attack appeared to be an isolated incident and there was no longer a threat. Protecting the civilians who attend the annual New Years Eve celebration in Times Square requires and involves the coordination, collaboration, and mutual assistance of multiple federal and state law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and NYPD. [1] However, NBC News reported that Barry asked the employee where the restaurant's owner was from. In 2017, the White House said it was a terrorist attack. NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Former Yale basketball captain Jack Montague has filed a lawsuit accusing the Ivy League university of wrongfully expelling him over a sexual assault allegation. The attack began when a man approached an officer and tried to strike him over the head with the machete before striking two officers in the head with the blade, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. Bickford allegedly committed the attack nearly two hours before midnight outside the secure area at Times Square where individuals are searched for weapons. Bickford has no prior arrests. A 19-year-old recent convert to an extremist Islamic ideology allegedly attacked three police officers with a machete on New Year's Eve.. Trevor Bickford was arrested after he allegedly attacked the officers in Times Square and has since been charged with multiple crimes.. Here's everything we know about the New Year's Eve machete attack.