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A 19-year-old from Maine has been identified as the suspect in the New Year’s Eve knife attack on three New York City Police officers, which is being investigated as a possible incident of terrorism, sources told ABC News. Multiple law enforcement sources identified the suspect to ABC News as Trevor Bickford, 19, of Wells, Maine. Bickford took an Amtrak train to New York on Dec. 29, sources told ABC News. The attack is being investigated as a possible incident of terrorism because of online postings and the method of attack, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The FBI confirmed to News 9 that the agency is working with NYPD to investigate the attack, saying they will run “every lead to the ground.” Federal and local law enforcement officers arrived Sunday night to what is believed to be the suspect’s home in Wells. Neighbors said the neighborhood is usually very quiet.See footage of police activity in the player below. The attack happened a little after 10 p.m. about eight blocks from Times Square, just outside of the high-security zone where revelers are screened for weapons. The two officers were hospitalized, one with a fractured skull and the other with a bad cut. They have been released from the hospital. The 19-year-old suspect also was expected to recover. 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.See raw footage of the scene after the attack in the player below. 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. “He was in good spirits,” Adams said. “He understood that his role saved lives of New Yorkers today.” Michael Driscoll, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said they believe the attacker acted alone.At the scene, police found the suspect’s backpack which contained a diary, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The final diary entry indicated the suspect thought he would die in the attack and asked for burial according to Islamic tradition, the sources told ABC News.Law enforcement sources told ABC News the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force had previously looked into the suspect after he was reported by relatives about whether he was gravitating towards concerning Islamic ideologies. The NYPD mounts a massive security operation every year to keep the New Year’s Eve crowd safe. Thousands of officers are deployed in the area, including many new recruits to the force. One of the injured officers only graduated from the police academy on Friday, the mayor said. The blocks where the biggest crowds gather to see performances and the midnight ball drop can only be accessed through checkpoints where officers use metal-detecting wands to screen for weapons. Large bags and coolers are banned. Barriers are set up to prevent vehicle attacks in the secure area. The security perimeter can only extend so far, though. The attack took place on 8th Avenue, which is often packed with thick crowds navigating around the frozen zone or trying to find one of the secure entrances.ABC News said the investigation is being run by NYPD counterterrorism bureau in conjunction with the FBI. Information from The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
A 19-year-old from Maine has been identified as the suspect in the New Year’s Eve knife attack on three New York City Police officers, which is being investigated as a possible incident of terrorism, sources told ABC News.
Multiple law enforcement sources identified the suspect to ABC News as Trevor Bickford, 19, of Wells, Maine. Bickford took an Amtrak train to New York on Dec. 29, sources told ABC News.
The attack is being investigated as a possible incident of terrorism because of online postings and the method of attack, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The FBI confirmed to News 9 that the agency is working with NYPD to investigate the attack, saying they will run “every lead to the ground.”
Federal and local law enforcement officers arrived Sunday night to what is believed to be the suspect’s home in Wells. Neighbors said the neighborhood is usually very quiet.
See footage of police activity in the player below.
The attack happened a little after 10 p.m. about eight blocks from Times Square, just outside of the high-security zone where revelers are screened for weapons.
The two officers were hospitalized, one with a fractured skull and the other with a bad cut. They have been released from the hospital.
The 19-year-old suspect also was expected to recover.
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.
See raw footage of the scene after the attack in the player below.
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.
“He was in good spirits,” Adams said. “He understood that his role saved lives of New Yorkers today.”
Michael Driscoll, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said they believe the attacker acted alone.
At the scene, police found the suspect’s backpack which contained a diary, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The final diary entry indicated the suspect thought he would die in the attack and asked for burial according to Islamic tradition, the sources told ABC News.
Law enforcement sources told ABC News the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force had previously looked into the suspect after he was reported by relatives about whether he was gravitating towards concerning Islamic ideologies.
The NYPD mounts a massive security operation every year to keep the New Year’s Eve crowd safe. Thousands of officers are deployed in the area, including many new recruits to the force.
One of the injured officers only graduated from the police academy on Friday, the mayor said.
The blocks where the biggest crowds gather to see performances and the midnight ball drop can only be accessed through checkpoints where officers use metal-detecting wands to screen for weapons. Large bags and coolers are banned. Barriers are set up to prevent vehicle attacks in the secure area.
The security perimeter can only extend so far, though. The attack took place on 8th Avenue, which is often packed with thick crowds navigating around the frozen zone or trying to find one of the secure entrances.
ABC News said the investigation is being run by NYPD counterterrorism bureau in conjunction with the FBI.
Information from The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
