Multiple law enforcement sources identified the alleged Islamic extremist who attacked multiple NYPD officers with a machete near the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square as 19-year-old Trevor Bickford on Sunday.
According to the sources, the cops were working the New Year’s Eve detail in Times Square when two of them were struck in the head with a large knife in what police are investigating as a possible targeted attack around 10 p.m.
One of the cops, who works at the Police Academy, was lacerated in the head. A Staten Island police officer was struck in the head with a blunt object. Both were taken to Bellevue Hospital.
A third officer was taken to Mt. Sinai West with unknown injuries. All three were expected to make a full recovery.
According to the sources, one of the cops shot Bickford, who lives in Wells, Maine, in the shoulder after he attacked them on Eighth Avenue between 51st and 52nd Street.
Bickford was facing charges early Sunday morning. According to police, he remained hospitalized at Bellevue.
The weapon was described as a “large knife” by Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, and cops released a photo of it that showed it was 18 inches long.
According to Sewell, the officers who were attacked were not inside the security screening zone.
According to police sources, a preliminary search revealed no criminal record for Bickford.
However, according to police sources, the FBI in Boston has an open case against him and he is on something called a guardian list as a result of his radicalization. According to police sources, Bickford’s aunt notified authorities after he allegedly made statements to her indicating a desire to fight in Afghanistan.
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