The suspect, hospitalized after an NYPD officer opened fire in defense, expressed pro-jihadist views overnight and possessed terrorist propaganda, law enforcement sources said. Two of the officers were struck. The defense asked jurors to find Mr. Rojas not responsible for his actions. Should authorities determine the attack was motivated by an Islamist ideology, it would make it the first terror incident associated with New Year's Eve in Times Square, authorities said. Relatives had reportedly contacted law enforcement in recent weeks to report their concerns that he was gravitating toward dangerous Islamist ideologies. said Isles. He seemed to be in good spirits and said he is feeling OK, resting up at home with his family. "It just goes to show you, it could be your first day or it could be your last day, the actions that police officers must take every day are life-threatening situations," Adams said. Cohen noted that suspects in several recent mass casualty incidents had been evaluated by law enforcement prior to committing the acts of violence, including Payton Gendron, the teenager who pleaded guilty to killing 10 Black people in a racially motivated shooting in Buffalo, and Nikolas Cruz, who pleaded guilty to killing 17 students in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. I said 'Allauh Akbar.' He realized the situation he was in and offered an excuse, Mr. Peterson told jurors. Police working New Year's Eve detail in Times Square were wounded by a machete-wielding man who struck multiple officers in the head in what law enforcement are investigating as a possible targeted attack. Authorities believe Bickford has owned the weapon for about a year. ABC News' Josh Margolin, Keith Harden, Patricio Chile and Mark Crudele contributed to this report. The Boston Marathon bombing was a domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. A couple minutes later, you can see police clearing everyone out of the area, many quickly rushing by, others running. 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. The NYPD counterterrorism bureau is investigating the New Year's Eve attack in conjunction with the FBI. "The last entry in there says, 'This is likely to be my final entry,' it's dated December 31, 2022," said CNN Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst and former deputy NYPD Commissioner John Miller. Prosecutors said he was culpable, but. Sewell said the attack was unprovoked. Prior to New Years Eve, the NYPD noted in a pre-event assessment that throughout December "multiple pro-ISIS users disseminated extremist propaganda graphics broadly calling for attacks in advance of the New Year, advocating a wide range of low-tech tactics." All three officers Bickford is accused of attacking were released from the hospital the following morning. Investigators were probing whether he stayed at a homeless shelter downtown, the four officials said. Thursday, March 2, 2023 At this time, there's nothing to indicate otherwise," an FBI official said. All the officers are expected to survive and return home shortly. Witnesses said the driver, Richard Rojas, tried to flee but was quickly apprehended. Sources say he was put on the list because his aunt reported he had been radicalized online and expressed a desire to travel overseas and fight with Islamic extremists. Two of the officers were struck with the machete before an officer shot the man in the shoulder. One of the officers involved in the incident had graduated from the police academy on Friday, Sewell said. Were not dealing with a group of sophisticated, ideologically motivated foreign terrorists. ), ALSO READ | 'Eyewitness to 2022,' examining the stories that defined the year, * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. NEW YORK -- The NYPD and FBI investigation into a machete attack on three police officers near Times Square on Saturday night now spans from New York City to Maine, where the suspect is from. The concussed officer had just graduated from the police academy Friday, and his first assignment was the New Years Eve detail in Times Square, she said. "Wells is a very small community and you think, you know, 'Did this really just happen here?' FBI Assistant Director in Charge Mike Driscoll said the bureau's Joint Terrorism Task Force is involved to "ascertain what is the nature of the attack." Upon arrival in New York the suspect made a large donation with the cash to the Bowery Mission, which investigators believe was meant to satisfy a Muslim tenet of charity. Federal and local authorities are digging into the background of 19-year-old Trevor Bickford, who allegedly attacked a group of NYPD officers outside a security screening zone in Times Square just after 10 p.m. Saturday, multiple law enforcement sources said. It was very, very terrifying to the public and people that work here," Sicilliano said. We're learning more about the suspect, 19-year-old Trevor Bickford, as federal investigators continue to look into whether the attack was terror-related. "And it goes on to lay out, basically, a last will and testament: How to divide my belongings, what family members to give things to, where he wants to be buried-'not in the land of non-believers.'". Feb 27, 2023. One is an eight-year veteran, and one of the others is a rookie officer who just graduated from the police academy on Friday. 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. Counsel also referenced the Wells man's community ties and said he worked at a golf course. This is no place for sweaty palms. Anderson Lee Aldrich, who allegedly killed five people and wounded 17 others at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs in November, had been arrested in 2021 on allegations of making a bomb threat that led to the evacuation of about 10 homes. Trusted News Discovery Since 2008. I saw the office and waited until he was alone. The attack happened a little after 10 p.m. about eight blocks from Times Square, just outside the high . 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. He is due back in court Feb. 1. One of the injured officers, an eight-year veteran of the NYPD, suffered a laceration to the head, officials said. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is assisting in the investigation. Trevor Bickford, the 19-year-old suspect charged in the Times Square attack on NYPD officers. "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. "But the alternative is we continue to experience the weekly shootings or other mass casualty attacks that we seem to be experiencing today. "The school resource officer went to the threat management unit, which did a threat assessment and deemed the person to be high risk," Cohen said. "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. She said he traveled to New York by way of Boston roughly three or four days ago. https://t.co/Waaux2hUTt pic.twitter.com/EijU7QUgkQ. This incident follows other lone-wolf terror-type attacks on NYPD officers. 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. Bickford does not have a criminal record, the four officials said. Updated on: January 2, 2023 / 11:33 PM / CBS New York NEW YORK -- The suspect in the New Year's Eve machete attack just outside the Times Square celebration was charged Monday with two counts. Neighbors who knew the suspect and his family told NBC Boston said they were surprised by the allegations. 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. The injured police were out of the hospital and expected to recover. He was recently placed on an FBI terror watch list, according to a high-ranking police source. 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. Videos from the scene appeared to show revelers jogging through the rain as they were directed away from the scene by columns of police officers. "All three of the officers are in stable conditions and there are no critical threats to New Yorkers at this time.". In Saturday's attack, the officers were initially hospitalized, one with a fractured skull and another with a bad cut, Sewell said. The NYPD released a photo of the weapon they said was used to attack officers on New Year's Eve. Law enforcement officials said they are looking into whether the man who allegedly attacked the officers had previously posted what they called jihadist writings online and traveled to New York City to target police. SHARE. Trusted News Discovery Since 2008. The police department mounts a massive security operation every year during New Years Eve celebrations, deploying thousands of officers in the area around Times Square. One of the injured officers only graduated from the police academy that Friday, the mayor said. "We're still, from an investigator's perspective, looking for that Mohamed Atta," said Cohen, referring to one of the hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He said there are reams of data culled from mass shootings and terrorist attacks showing a common pattern of behavior in perpetrators that can be used in assessing risk. 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. Trevor Bickford, 19, is expected to be arraigned on attempted murder charges soon. Three law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the investigation said late Sunday that authorities were looking into whether the suspect reached for one of the officers' service weapons during their takedown. Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Merrick B. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States, Christopher A. Wray, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI, and Keechant L. Sewell, the Commissioner of the New York City Police . 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