The deranged homeless ex-con accused of randomly shoving a straphanger to her death in a Times Square subway station is due to be arraigned at his hospital bedside Wednesday. Times Square bomber sentenced, warns of additional attacks. Just under a week before the Times Square incident, according to court documents, Mr. Rojas was charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon after using a knife to threaten a man who came to his mothers apartment to notarize documents for him. The person got additional mental health care.". NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell has said two of the cops suffered blows to the head. Police sources say the bomb squad responded to a suspicious package Sunday in Forest Park, Queens that may have been tied to the case. 1:15. Islamist terror groups have long promoted knife attacks. 2023 FOX Television Stations, allegedly attacked three police officers with a machete, Kylie Jenners ex Travis Scott nightclub incident: New York police investigating alleged bar brawl, West Virginia governor signs new carry bill, allowing for guns on public college, university campuses, Rep. George Santos sponsors his first bill, Airbnb renting out Paris theater that inspired 'Phantom of the Opera', Surgeon runs down Philadelphia street to retrieve organ from transport vehicle stuck in traffic, Pilot thought instructor who died during flight was 'just pretending', Hamptons trailer park home sells for $3.75M, Long-lost Ironton ship found in Lake Huron, confirming tragic story, Baby seal released after crossing NJ highway with police help. A neighbor in Maine, Steve Isles, told reporters Bickford has two brothers, and they're well known in the neighborhood. 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. 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. 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. The injured police were out of the hospital and expected to recover. The Boston Marathon bombing was a domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Global Edition. One of the officers fired their weapon, striking the suspect in the shoulder, Sewell said. Nicholas also argued that he poses a "significant flight risk," telling the court Bickford indicated he intended to travel across the United States after leaving New York City and had bought an Amtrak ticket to Miami. https://t.co/ha11b02Fvq. FBI agents with court authorization searched the man's home in Maine on Sunday, an agency spokesperson said. 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. Two of the officers were struck with the machete before an officer shot the man in the shoulder. Many defendants in the American legal system suffer from mental illness, treated or untreated. Join The Clinton Senior Center & Best of Times Travel on this wonderful patriotic program. I said 'Allauh Akbar.' It is powerful evidence that he knew what had happened in Times Square., Driver in Fatal Times Square Attack Found Not Responsible Because of Mental Illness, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/nyregion/driver-times-square-attack-terrorism.html. Global; United . Transgender rapist Isla Bryson jailed for eight years for attacks on two women when she was a man. He is expected back in court for a grand jury on Friday. The withdrawal and the purchase suggest premeditation, sources said. Trevor Bickford, charged in the attack on 3 NYPD officers near Times Square, may have been motivated by Islamic extremism. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. The NYPD counterterrorism bureau is investigating the New Year's Eve attack in conjunction with the FBI. CBS2's Tim McNicholas spoke to that officer briefly Monday. ___ The Times Square assault on three New York City police officers came just weeks after the suspect, 19-year-old Trevor Bickford of Maine, was placed on a federal watch list, authorities said. After growing up in the Bronx, he spent three years in the Navy. John Dias is an Emmy-nominated reporter. Times Square New Year's Eve attack: Suspect arrested and faces attempted murder charges | CNN Suspect in Times Square machete attack on New Year's Eve arrested and faces attempted. Photos of Ukrainian civilians and servicemen stopped office workers as they returned from lunch in Seoul on Friday. Investigators have been reviewing Bickford's online postings, which included some mentions of Islamic extremist views, a law enforcement official said. All three officers Bickford is accused of attacking were released from the hospital the following morning. "But the alternative is we continue to experience the weekly shootings or other mass casualty attacks that we seem to be experiencing today. Bickford, of Wells, Maine, allegedly approached the officers on Manhattan's 8th Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets armed with a large knife he used to swing at three different officers, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at an overnight press conference. But Cohen conceded there are likely "thousands" of reports like the one flagged to authorities in Maryland. One is an eight-year veteran, and one of the others is a rookie officer who just graduated from the police academy on Friday. The attack is being investigated as a possible incident of terrorism because of online postings Bickford made before the attack. 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. Prosecutors said he was culpable, but. The still photo image taken from a surveillance camera shows the Nissan Pathfinder used in the attack crossing through Times Square. Investigators trying to pinpoint motive in NYPD machete attack, Suspect charged with attempted murder in New Year's Eve machete attack. "And then you hear a gunshot, and it just went crazy. 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. ", 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.". Investigators spent much of the weekend searching the suspect's family home in Wells, Maine. The mayor of Saga said Monday that he will accept the deployment of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Osprey transport aircraft to the airport in the city. 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 . Two teens suffered cuts after they were attacked by a man in Times Square early Wednesday morning, police said. He is due back in court Feb. 1. So everybody kind of knows everybody.". We believe this was a sole individual at this time; theres nothing to suggest otherwise, Driscoll said. 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. The attacks occurred outside the security screening area set up around Times Square for the traditional New Year's Eve ball drop. One round, and they went back to protecting the people of this city," Adams said. "I cannot even describe how bad it was. https://t.co/ha11b02Fvq. "I wanted to kill an officer in uniform. 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. "They believed this person was on their way to engage in violence and they prevented it. Investigators were probing whether he stayed at a homeless shelter downtown, the four officials said. The incident occurred just after 10 p.m. on Saturday near West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue, outside the secure area that had been set up for New Year's Eve celebrations, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters at a news conference at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital. 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. NEW YORK -- A Pakistani immigrant who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison . In Saturday's attack, the officers were initially hospitalized, one with a fractured skull and another with a bad cut, Sewell said. Times Square machete attack suspect now facing terrorism charges The 19-year-old suspect who allegedly attacked three police officers with a machete at a New Year's Eve celebration near Times. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? 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. All three officers were rushed to Bellevue Hospital following the attack and were in stable condition, Adams noted. 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. 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. It was discovered in a wooded area, along with a bag containing food and a sleeping bag. 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. He then struck two officers in the head with the blade before he was shot in the shoulder and apprehended by police, Sewell said. Trusted News Discovery Since 2008. 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. The NYPD mounts a massive security operation every year to keep the New Years Eve crowd safe. Sewell asked any witnesses to contact the NYPD. From there, it's believed Bickford slept in a park in Forest Park, Queens. 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. They believe it belonged to Bickford. Times Square attack reminds us terrorism still looms By Peter Brookes January 10, 2023 03:14 PM W hile we'd all like to think that the threat of Islamist terrorism is but just a bad memory,. 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 . Mr. Rojas spent two months inside a Navy brig and in 2014 received what the Navy called an other than honorable discharge. "The attack follows a series of media announcements and propaganda from ISIS affiliates globally that were encouraging supporters to conduct lone actor attacks on targets such as airports and security services," ISD analysts wrote. 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. All the officers are expected to survive and return home shortly. The three officers who were wounded are recovering at home. 4 min read. And there was Thomas Henry, a retired Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker who was with family; he was hit in the head and has lasting cognitive issues. 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