NEW YORK – New York City prosecutors said Wednesday that a knife-wielding man who allegedly attacked police officers near Times Square on New Year’s Eve was inspired by Islamic extremism.
Trevor Bickford, 19, traveled to New York “to kill people and do jihad,” the Manhattan District Attorney’s office told a state court.
Bickford – from Wells, a small coastal town in Maine – was remanded in custody Wednesday at the request of the government after he was taken into custody on charges of assault and attempted murder.
Assistant DA Lucy Nichols told the hearing that Bickford “travelled specifically to New York” via Boston with the intention of murdering government employees.
He is accused of attacking three officers shortly after 10:00 p.m. just outside the Times Square security area where thousands of people had gathered to celebrate the New Year.
Bickford allegedly struck two officers over the head, without causing any life-threatening injuries, before another officer used his service weapon to wound him in the shoulder.
New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell addresses the media during a news conference following a knife attack on police officers near Times Square on December 31, 2022. (NYPD via AP)
According to the prosecutors’ complaint, after his arrest, Bickford told detectives that he had shouted “Allahu Akbar” before the attack.
“I went up and hit him on the head with a kukri. I charged at the other officer but dropped the knife and I tried to get the police officer’s gun but could not,” Bickford told police.
Nichols said that Bickford also said that “all government officials” were a target for him “because they cannot be proper Muslims because the United States government supports Israel.”
CNN, citing unnamed sources, reported that Bickford had a diary in which he expressed his desire to join the Afghan Taliban and die as a martyr.
NBC News reported that the FBI questioned him in mid-December after a relative alerted the bureau to his jihadist statements.
