Suspect in Times Square machete attack on New Year's Eve arrested and faces attempted murder charges - CNN

CNN  — 

The 19-year-old fishy accused of attacking New York constabulary officers with a machete adjacent Times Square connected New Year’s Eve has been arrested and faces charges of attempted execution of a constabulary officer.

Police are recommending the suspect, Trevor Bickford, beryllium charged with 2 counts of attempted execution of a constabulary serviceman and 2 counts of attempted battle successful the attack, the New York Police Department said.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s bureau has said that they bash not yet person details of erstwhile Bickford volition beryllium arraigned. It’s unclear whether helium has an attorney.

The ceremonial apprehension comes 2 days aft Bickford allegedly attacked constabulary officers astatine a information screening country extracurricular Times Square, the halfway of the city’s famed New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Just aft 10 p.m. helium went to the Times Square checkpoint astatine West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue wherever officers cheque bags for weapons oregon suspicious items, NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell and constabulary said.

At the information area, Bickford allegedly pulled retired a machete, struck 1 serviceman with the leaf and different serviceman successful the caput with the handle, and past swung the leaf astatine a 3rd officer, who changeable Bickford successful the shoulder, according to the sources and the NYPD. The officers person been treated and released.

For the past 2 days, Bickford had been successful custody and nether constabulary defender astatine Bellevue Hospital, wherever helium was being treated for the gunshot wound, sources said.

Even earlier the attack, Bickford was connected the FBI’s radar.

Bickford was interviewed by FBI agents successful Maine successful mid-December aft helium said helium wanted to question overseas to assistance chap Muslims and was consenting to dice for his religion, according to aggregate instrumentality enforcement sources.

Bickford’s parent and grandma became progressively acrophobic astir his tendency to question to Afghanistan to articulation the Taliban and reported this to the Wells, Maine, constabulary section retired of interest for him connected December 10, the sources said.

When the FBI opened its wider probe they besides placed him connected a violent ticker list, according to sources. Because the Taliban is not designated a overseas violent entity, readying to question to Afghanistan to articulation the radical does not represent the national transgression of “attempted worldly enactment of a violent group.”

Multiple instrumentality enforcement sources told CNN that Bickford traveled to New York via Amtrak, truthful those travels would not person tripped immoderate ticker database databases.

His archetypal destination was Miami, the sources said, but helium stopped successful New York and checked successful astatine the Grand Hotel adjacent the Bowery successful Manhattan connected December 29. He checked retired connected New Year’s Eve with each his luggage earlier allegedly conducting the Times Square machete attack, the sources said.

A diary that investigators judge belongs to the fishy ends with a past volition and testament. According to aggregate instrumentality enforcement sources, the last entry, dated December 31, begins with, “This volition apt beryllium my past entry,” and goes connected to permission instructions connected however to disagreement the author’s belongings among his household and instructions for his burial, according to sources acquainted with the diary’s contents.

The diary expressed a tendency to articulation the Taliban and was recovered successful a container discarded earlier the attack, according to sources.