Sewell asked any witnesses to contact the NYPD. Bickford has no prior arrests. The attack happened shortly after 10 p.m. at West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue, just outside checkpoints for the high-security zone set up for celebrants, officials said at a news conference early Sunday. His name is in a federal law enforcement database, they said, and he was known to investigators for his social media postings. "Threat assessment is a systematic, fact-based method of investigation and examination that blends the collection of analysis of multiple sources of information with published research and practitioner experience, focusing on an individual's patterns of thinking and behavior to determine whether, and to what extent, a person of concern is moving toward an attack," the report states. The New York Police Department released an image of a knife they said had been recovered at the scene of an officer-involved shooting near Times Square on New Year's Eve. One News Page. ), ALSO READ | 'Eyewitness to 2022,' examining the stories that defined the year, * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. He understood that his role saved lives of New Yorkers today, Adams said. In 2012, Khan pleaded guilty to conspiracy and the murder of 11 innocent civilians in the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta, Indonesia, and for the attempted [] There was Caroline Johns, an executive assistant, who was out for lunch; she suffered a punctured lung. Mr. Rojas also told doctors that the police should have shot him and was heard saying while in custody, Im never getting out, Mr. Peterson added, pointing to those statements as further evidence that Mr. Rojas knew he had committed crimes. Islamist terror groups have long promoted knife attacks. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. "All three of the officers are in stable conditions," Mayor Eric Adams said. By contrast, he noted a recent case in Maryland, where a teenager posted on Instagram that he wanted to shoot up his high school and was reported to a school resource officer by classmates. For now, we ask the public to refrain from drawing hasty conclusions and to respect the privacy of our clients family.". Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. Were dealing with individuals, all of which, regardless of the motive, are experiencing somewhat consistent behavioral health issues.". By Kanishka Singh(Reuters) - The teenager accused of attacking three policemen with a machete on New Year's Eve near Times Square and charged with. Feb 27, 2023. NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell has said two of the cops suffered blows to the head. "Weve just received initial discovery from the District Attorneys office, and well have more to say about this case after a thorough review and investigation. Another video obtained by CBS2 shows more than 20 police officer running on 52nd Street toward the crime scene. There was nothing, however, to prevent him from boarding an Amtrak train to New York. Concern about the safety of everyone was there, they immediately terminated the threat. Should authorities determine the attack was motivated by an Islamist ideology it would make it the first-ever terror incident associated with New Year's Eve in Times Square, something the NYPD and FBI have long feared and prepared for. He doesnt go to jail, Mr. Elsman said. Federal and local law enforcement investigators are combing through the suspect's online postings, which indicate recent extremist Islamic radicalization, the sources said. Investigators found some of his belongings in Forest Park Monday morning. "There are message boards for this kind of material that just circulate," said David Viola, a professor with John Jay College of Criminal Justice's Center on Terrorism. All three officers were rushed to Bellevue Hospital following the attack and were in stable condition, Adams noted. The suspect approached an officer and tried to strike him over the head with the machete, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. Neighbors who knew the suspect and his family told NBC Boston said they were surprised by the allegations. A video of Ukrainian citizens praying in the town square of Kharkiv after Russia invaded the country has gone viral . The attack happened a little after 10 p.m. about eight blocks from Times Square, just outside the high-security zone where revelers are screened for weapons. An eight-year veteran suffered a head laceration and a recent police academy graduate endured a skull fracture, she said. Mayor Eric Adams said one of the injured officers just graduated from the police academy Friday. https://t.co/Waaux2hUTt pic.twitter.com/EijU7QUgkQ. ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream, 'Eyewitness to 2022,' examining the stories that defined the year, Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. It was discovered in a wooded area, along with a bag containing food and a sleeping bag. The attack happened shortly after 10 p.m. at West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue, just outside checkpoints for the high-security zone set up for celebrants, officials said at a news conference. Steering a person in a different direction early on may mean offering assistance to someone who needs it before that person concludes violence is necessary.". Police say attack happened around 10 p.m. Just after 10 p.m. he went to the Times Square checkpoint at West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue where officers check bags for weapons or suspicious. Were not dealing with a group of sophisticated, ideologically motivated foreign terrorists. He may have traveled to New York City specifically to target police, sources told the networks. The photos, displayed in the lobby of the Seoul Square building, showed a year . Mr. De Marco also told jurors that Mr. Rojas had not made the statement about wanting to kill people that the police attributed to him. "We believe this was a sole individual. One officer suffered a fractured skull, another was treated for a bad cut. On May 18, 2017, a car was crashed in Times Square, New York City, United States.One person was killed and 20 were injured. It adds terrorism charges to theoffenses he was already facing, which include two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, as well as two counts of attempted assault. Mayor Eric Adams commended the work of the officers and the police department's security planning that went into securing the area around Times Square in the aftermath of the attack. And two years ago, a man stabbed a Brooklyn officer in the neck before stealing his gun and using it to fire at responding officers in another jihadist-inspired lone-wolf attack. 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. Home. The 19-year-old Maine man charged with trying to murder NYPD officers in a New Year's Eve machete attack near Times Square shortly before the iconic ball drop was remanded to Department of Correction custody following his video arraignment from a hospital on Wednesday. Times Square was targeted for a terrorist attack in May 2010, when a Pakistani immigrant tried to detonate a car bomb in the Crossroads of the World. 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. He joined CBS2 News in November 2017. Moments after the attack, Bickford was shot in the shoulder by police. Authorities believe Bickford has owned the weapon for about a year. "But after that we heard the gunshots and once I heard the gunshots, everyone was like rushing to the back of the building, people trying to get in, people trying to get out," owner Mike Sicilano said. 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. Staff and customers could be seen looking outside at what they thought were two people fighting. He could still face federal terrorism charges. All three officers Bickford is accused of attacking were released from the hospital the following morning. The male then struck two additional officers in the head with the machete. Sewell said the attack was unprovoked. One of the injured officers, an eight-year veteran of the NYPD, suffered a laceration to the head, officials said. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The incident took place at around 4:30 a.m. in the area of 162 W 43rd St. Police. He is charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and two counts of attempted assault. While Bickford was placed on a federal no-fly list, he took an Amtrak train to New York allegedly intent on attacking police officers, authorities said. The attack and sound of a gunshot briefly sent some people in the crowd running, but the incident did not impact the festivities in Times Square, which continued uninterrupted. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs, which detonated 14 seconds and 210 yards (190 m) apart at 2:49 p.m., near the finish line of the race, killing three people and injuring hundreds of others . He remained hospitalized on Wednesday, but was out of bed to face a judge via video. "Unprovoked, a 19-year-old male approached an officer and attempted to strike him over the head with a machete," Sewell said. Officials allege the suspect attacked two officers with a machete, unprovoked, just outside the NYPD's high security zone for the New Year's Eve festivities in Times Square. "We're looking for somebody who we can associate with a foreign terrorist group or looking at somebody who meets the threshold of a federal terrorism investigation. Navy veteran Richard Rojas was charged with one count of second degree murder, 18 attempted murders and 38 assaults, for which he was found not responsible because of insanity.. After being detained, Rojas was found to have ingested phencyclidine before the crash. All rights reserved, charged with trying to murder NYPD officers in a New Year's Eve machete attack, Relative Alerted to Machete Man's Alleged Jihadist Views Before NYE Cop Attack: Sources. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Payton Gendron is led into the courtroom for a hearing at Erie County Court in Buffalo, N.Y., on May 19, 2022. "He understood that his role saved lives of New Yorkers today.". (Andrew Kelly/Reuters) A man accused of attacking police with a machete near New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve was arrested on charges of attempting to murder officers, police said. The FBI's Joint Terrorism task Force is also investigating. The attack happened near 52nd Street and 8th Avenue just after 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve, less than two hours before the ball dropped in Times Square to ring in 2023. Lyugovski and his brother-in-law, Andrew Dyachkin, of South Carolina, were in New York to watch the Times Square ball drop, they said in a joint video interview. A New Year's Eve machete rampage targeting police officers in Times Square is the latest example of law enforcement failing to prevent an individual already on their radar from carrying out an act of violence, prompting some counterterrorism experts to call for a new model for evaluating would-be attackers. "I want to be clear that the FBI through the Joint Terrorism Taskforce is working very closely with them to determine the nature of this attack, and we will run every lead to ground," said the FBI official. "It has become increasingly clear that the protocols used by federal and local authorities to assess the risk posed by individuals who exhibit threat-related behaviors is out of date and inconsistent with the current threat facing the nation," said Cohen, now an ABC News contributor. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank that tracks and analyzes online extremism, terrorism and disinformation, released a briefing on the attack Monday, explaining that Jihadist groups were promoting low-tech attacks and targeting law enforcement in the runup to New Year's Eve. The NYPD released a photo of the weapon they said was used to attack officers on New Year's Eve. This is the weapon that was recovered at the scene. Richard Rojas, a Navy veteran, spiraled after he was discharged. All Rights Reserved. One of the officers involved in the incident had graduated from the police academy on Friday, Sewell said. "Those officers discharged one round. Trusted News Discovery Since 2008. He caused cuts and fractured one of their skulls and tried to injure a third officer. The three injured officers were taken to Bellevue, Sewell said. An "unprovoked" machete attack on three New York City police officers near Times Square on New Year's Eve is being investigated as a possible terrorist incident. He understood that his role saved lives of New Yorkers today.". NEW YORK --The suspect in the New Year's Eve machete attack just outside theTimes Squarecelebration was charged Monday with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault. Police sources say the bomb squad responded to a suspicious package Sunday in Forest Park, Queens that may have been tied to the case. ", Cohen added, "Thats why we continue to see instances where people come to the attention of the bureau or law enforcement, theyre assessed that way, they dont meet that threshold, they dont become the subject of a full-field investigation, yet they go out and commit an act of violence.". The suspect was known to federal agents, who interviewed him in mid-December after a relative alerted them to his revolutionary support for Islam, four law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation said. Counsel also referenced the Wells man's community ties and said he worked at a golf course. Police recovered a sleeping bag linked to the suspect, sources said. The random box-cutter attack on an Asian woman in Times Square was a hate crime, cops said Tuesday -- as they busted and charged the suspect in the case. The mother of the 19-year-old man accused of slashing two NYPD cops with a machete near Times Square on New Year's Eve had reported his sudden and inexplicable terrorist leanings to their local police department in southern Maine three weeks before the He was court-martialed in 2013 and pleaded guilty to drunken driving, failure to pay a debt, drunk and disorderly conduct and communicating a threat. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Trevor Bickford's neighbors in his Maine hometown shocked by his alleged conversion to Islam, attack on NYPD cops on New Year's Eve. The attack happened a little after 10 p.m. about eight blocks from Times Square, just outside the high . Defense attorneys with The Legal Aid Society requested that he be released on his own recognizance, saying police questioned him for days without a lawyer present and pointing to his lack of criminal history. To injure a third officer rushed to Bellevue Hospital following the attack happened little! 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