NYPD officers were attacked by a man wielding a machete just outside the security area for the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration on Saturday, leading to him being charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of attempted assault.
The accused attacker, 19-year-old Trevor Bickford of Wells, Maine, has possible ties to Islamic extremism, according to multiple reports.
The New York City Police Department and the FBI are looking into the online history of Bickford, who attacked police with an 18-inch machete during the city's New Year's Eve celebration. According to sources, the attacker reportedly converted to Islam and became "radicalized" as recently as a month ago.
Mike Driscoll, the FBI assistant director in charge, said during a news conference that the FBI's anti-terrorism unit was helping the investigation, according to the New York Post.
"I want to be clear the FBI and the terrorism task force is working very closely with the [NYPD] to determine the nature of this attack, and we will run every lead to the ground," Driscoll stated. "As you heard the mayor and the commissioner state earlier that there is no ongoing threat, we believe this was a sole individual at this time; there's nothing to indicate otherwise."
Bickford had been on the FBI's terror watchlist — the "Guardian Watchlist" — after his mother and aunt reported him for comments about going to Afghanistan to fight alongside Islamic militants, the Post reported, citing an anonymous law-enforcement source.
Sources have said to the Post that the FBI in Boston has opened a case on Bickford and has confirmed he was on the Guardian Watchlist because of his radicalization. Retired NYPD Sgt. Joseph Giacalone told the Post on Sunday that the NYPD and the FBI would look through his online history.
Bickford took an Amtrak train and traveled from Maine to New York on Dec. 29 with a backpack of "camping gear, a diary, and a last will and testament."
His diary urged his family to "repent to Allah and convert to Islam." He condemned his brother Devon for joining the Marines saying, "You have joined the ranks of my enemy," according to the Post.
According to sources, Bickford "found religion" after his father, Tom Bickford, died of an overdose in 2018.
He frequented mosques and devoured readings and videos about the religion. The persecution of Muslims overseas, including the Rohingya in Myanmar and the Uyghurs in China, angered him, according to The New York Times.
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