By Gerrard Kaonga On 2/24/22 at 5:33 AM EST. "I heard a lot of people screaming and yelling and I saw the sirens, and it was total chaos.". "Were dealing with individuals, all of which, regardless of the motive, are experiencing somewhat consistent behavioral health issues," Cohen said. Primary Menu Sections Skip to search results The man approached the first officer just after 10 p.m. Saturday and attempted to strike him over the head with a machete, Sewell said. "They feel disconnected from community, theyre angry, they're searching for a sense of life meaning, they come from dysfunctional family backgrounds, they spend a considerable amount of time online viewing content placed there by terrorist groups, by extremists, content regarding past shootings and other ideological or extremist content until ultimately they connect with something or a blend of beliefs, or a blend of beliefs and grievances. "They believed this person was on their way to engage in violence and they prevented it. He was recently placed on an FBI terror watch list, according to a high-ranking police source. Afterward, Mr. Peterson said, Mr. Rojas fought with a traffic agent and tried to flee, showing that he was thinking: I did something wrong and I need to get away.. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Monday prohibited television news channels from covering terrorist attacks, Pakistan based The News International Newspaper reported. 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. Global Edition. First published on January 2, 2023 / 12:31 PM. There was Jessica Williams, a high school senior in Midtown who was on her senior skip day; her spine detached from her pelvis. He said a better approach, increasingly adopted by state and local agencies, is to "look at individuals holistically" when they come to the attention of law enforcement. The NYPD counterterrorism bureau is investigating the New Year's Eve attack in conjunction with the FBI. The FBI's Joint Terrorism task Force is also investigating. One officer suffered a fractured skull, another was treated for a bad cut. Investigators are looking into whether the suspect came to the annual ball drop specifically to wage an attack on law enforcement, the sources said. In 2014, a radicalized man attacked three officers with a hatchet without warning in Queens. Authorities say Bickford whipped. NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell has said two of the cops suffered blows to the head. NEW YORK - 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, authorities . The NYPD released an image of a weapon that officials recovered at the scene. There was Caroline Johns, an executive assistant, who was out for lunch; she suffered a punctured lung. Early Morning Times Square Attack Leaves 2 Teens With Injuries: NYPD NBC New York 08:47 15-Feb-23 Cardi B and Offset pop by Times Square McDonald's for a Valentine's Day snack Complete Music Update 05:22 15-Feb-23 Cardi B & Offset Mobbed At Times Square McDonald's Valentine's Date All Hip-Hop 03:29 15-Feb-23 "We believe this was a sole individual at this time, there's nothing to suggest otherwise," said Mike Driscoll, assistant director in charge of the New York FBI Field Office. All the officers are expected to survive and return home shortly. 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. The photos, displayed in the lobby of the Seoul Square building, showed a year . 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. By John Dias, Tim McNicholas, Alice Gainer, Updated on: January 2, 2023 / 11:33 PM "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. Trevor Bickford's mom reported his terrorist leanings to police weeks before Times Square attack. (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. A local pizza shop employee said panicked revelers fled amid the chaos. The suspect said in the diary he regrets disappointing his mother; he also wrote that he wanted his brothers to join him in his fight for Islam, they said. Trusted News Discovery Since 2008. He took an Amtrak train to New York City on Dec. 29, the sources said. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. A couple minutes later, you can see police clearing everyone out of the area, many quickly rushing by, others running. He is due back in court Feb. 1. Authorities identified the suspect at the news conference only as a 19-year-old man. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The suspect was taken into custody, she said. By BY ANDY NEWMAN AND MIHIR ZAVERI from NYT New York Trevor Bickford, a 19-year-old man from Maine, had recently become radicalized and traveled to New York to attack the police, according to a law enforcement official. Crowds of people gathered on Eighth Avenue for New Year's festivities start to panic. All Rights Reserved. Youre trying to steal my identity, Mr. Rojas stated during that incident, according to a criminal complaint. Mr. Rojass rampage through one of the citys most crowded areas lasted only minutes, but caused intense panic, conjuring comparisons to an attempted car bombing in Times Square in 2010 and to episodes in which terrorists used automobiles as weapons. Bickford was placed on a federal watchlist that would have prevented him from traveling overseas. One News Page. There was nothing, however, to prevent him from boarding an Amtrak train to New York. Still, police allege he was able to carry out what could be New York's latest terror 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. They went to the courts, they invoked the red flag law. The suspect, hospitalized after an NYPD officer opened fire in defense, expressed pro-jihadist views overnight and possessed terrorist propaganda, law enforcement sources said. Adams spoke at the officer's graduation ceremony, he said. The official could not publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. Trusted News Discovery Since 2008. One of the injured officers, an eight-year veteran of the NYPD, suffered a laceration to the head, officials said. Police provide a photo of machete allegedly belonging to 19-year-old suspect. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. NEW YORK (AP) 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 . Home. 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. On Wednesday, after about six hours of deliberation, jurors found Mr. Rojas not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect on one count of murder and 23 assault charges. All three officers were released from the hospital on Sunday. NEW YORK -- A Pakistani immigrant who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison . 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 [] 0:00. Concern about the safety of everyone was there, they immediately terminated the threat. The attack happened near 52nd Street and 8th Avenue just after 10 p.m. Saturday, less than two hours before the ball dropped in Times Square to ring in 2023. Security guards failed to intervene while a man kicked and stomped on a 65-year-old woman near Times Square, yelling, "You don't belong here." Protesters gathered outside the West 43rd Street. 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. Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference that he had spoken to one of the wounded officers as he was being stitched up at the hospital. Bickford does not have a criminal record, the four officials said. / CBS New York. Thomas Galati, NYPD Chief of Intelligence and Counterterrorism, said the suspect in Saturday night's Times Square attack, was interviewed by FBI agents last month in Maine after his mother reported concerns that her son was possibly becoming radicalized. Times Square bomber sentenced, warns of additional attacks. The security perimeter can only extend so far, though. As the world was concerned over a Chinese spy balloon, Biden quietly released al Qaeda terrorist Majid Khan to Belize after 16 years in CIA custody in Guantanamo Bay. https://t.co/ha11b02Fvq. 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. "Just goes to show you, if it's not your first day, it could be your last day. Wake up to the day's most important news. "We believe this was a sole individual. A diary found by investigators may have indicated the suspect believed he was on a suicide mission: He left notes about who would inherit belongings and where he wanted to be buried, the sources said. Headed up by "Bike New York," the bicycles for illegal aliens program is working in direct partnership with the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, the New York City Department of Transportation, and other government entities to get bikes into the hands of illegals. Prosecutors sayBickford intended to carry out a jihad,and the charges reflect thegravity of his actions. A prosecutor, Alfred Peterson, in his summation, reprised the grievous injuries suffered by several people Mr. Rojas struck with his car, some of whom had testified. The NYPD released an image of a weapon, saying it had been recovered at the scene. Two of the officers were struck with the machete before an officer shot the man in the shoulder. Experience the home that molds then men and women that protect our nation - West Point Military Academy. Watch as Police Commissioner Sewell & Mayor Adams provide an update on a police involved incident in Manhattan. The suspect was then shot in the shoulder and wounded by police. Neighbors told NBC affiliate WCSH of Portland, Maine, that the suspect is the child of divorced parents and has two siblings. On May 18, 2017, a car was crashed in Times Square, New York City, United States.One person was killed and 20 were injured. Bickford only recently considered New York as a target, officials allege, and decided to go forward with the attack once he got to the city after taking an Amtrak train from Boston on Dec. 29, according to law enforcement officials. Bickford was taken into custody after being shot in the shoulder by a police officer. The decision in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan was one of only a few recent instances in which a jury found that the illness outweighed evidence of guilt.Its a humane verdict, one of Mr. Rojass lawyers, Enrico De Marco, said as he left the courthouse. This incident follows other lone-wolf terror-type attacks on NYPD officers. Officials believed the suspect acted alone, and the FBI says there is no ongoing threat. The report prompted the FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Force to look into the suspect, the law enforcement sources said. Reports say he took an Amtrak from Maine to New York on Thursday, but sources tell CBS2 the NYPD was not aware and did not know he was on an FBI watch list. The suspect is allegedly a 19-year-old man from Maine, whose online posts indicate recent Islamic radicalization, sources told ABC News. Trevor Bickford, charged in the attack on 3 NYPD officers near Times Square, may have been motivated by Islamic extremism. Trevor Bickford's neighbors in his Maine hometown shocked by his alleged conversion to Islam, attack on NYPD cops on New Year's Eve. 1:15. Police provide photo of machete allegedly belonging to 19-year-old suspect. As neighbors describe the officer hurt in the attack as a caring young man, there are also questions about whether the suspect in the New Year's Eve machete melee may have tried to reach for an officer's gun. The knife attack and gunfire startled a long line of crowds waiting to join the NYE celebrations. So everybody kind of knows everybody.". I walked up and hit him over the head with a kukri. He remained hospitalized on Wednesday, but was out of bed to face a judge via video. The Dutch Embassy in Cairo issued a statement saying a 22-year-old Dutch woman was attacked in Tahrir Square on Friday night. People lying on the floor to avoid the gunshots.". Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. CBS2's Tim McNicholas spoke to that officer briefly Monday. 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. They said that after his arrest, he said he was self-radicalized and that he had converted his beliefs about three or four months ago, officials said. I charged another officer but dropped the knife and I tried to get the police officer's gun but couldn't," Bickford allegedly told detectives. This is no place for sweaty palms. Mr. Rojas spent two months inside a Navy brig and in 2014 received what the Navy called an other than honorable discharge. ABC News' Josh Margolin, Keith Harden, Patricio Chile and Mark Crudele contributed to this report. Investigators trying to pinpoint motive in NYPD machete attack, Suspect charged with attempted murder in New Year's Eve machete attack. Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. ", 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.". May 21, 2021 at 6:46 pm Expand Joseph Borgen, pictured, said anti-Semitic assailants appeared out of nowhere Thursday at the corner of W. 48th St. and Seventh Ave. in Times Square, Manhattan,. An eight-year veteran suffered a head laceration and a recent police academy graduate endured a skull fracture, she said. The suspect approached an officer and tried to strike him over the head with the machete, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. (The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Maine teenager charged in a New Year 's Eve machete attack on three New York City cops near Times Square was arraigned from a hospital bed on Wednesday as . Prosecutors said he was culpable, but failed to sway jurors in the 2017 attack that left one dead and injured nearly two dozen. Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. 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. 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. His reality is altered by his acute psychotic state.. At approximately 10:10 p.m., at 52nd Street and Eighth Avenue, blocks away from the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, BICKFORD attacked three NYPD officers, who were detailed to the joint federal-state law enforcement operation to protect the New Year's Eve celebration. Authorities believe Bickford has owned the weapon for about a year. 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