Richard Rojas, a Navy veteran, spiraled after he was discharged. This incident follows other lone-wolf terror-type attacks on NYPD officers. This is the weapon that was recovered at the scene. The 19-year-old Maine man charged with trying to murder NYPD officers in a New Year's Eve machete attack near Times Square shortly before the iconic ball drop was remanded to Department of Correction custody following his video arraignment from a hospital on Wednesday. All three NYPD members were taken to Bellevue Hospital and were expected to survive. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank that tracks and analyzes online extremism, terrorism and disinformation, released a briefing on the attack Monday, explaining that Jihadist groups were promoting low-tech attacks and targeting law enforcement in the runup to New Year's Eve. It is being probed as a possible terrorist attack. A rookie NYPD police officer on his first day on the job was attacked with a machete on New Year's Eve just blocks Times Square and police are probing whether the suspect is a recently. 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. Large bags and coolers are banned from the area, while barriers are set up to prevent vehicle attacks in the secure area. 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. Just around the corner, video from a nearby restaurant shows chaos unfolding after the attack. They tried to restrict his ability to travel, but look what happened.". Mr. Rojas spent two months inside a Navy brig and in 2014 received what the Navy called an other than honorable discharge. "People trying to get into the store, people rushing out," said Fiorentina Pizzeria owner Mike Sicilliano. He understood that his role saved lives of New Yorkers today.". Wake up to the day's most important news. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Bickford does not have a criminal record, the four officials said. A local pizza shop employee said panicked revelers fled amid the chaos. Driver in Fatal Times Square Attack Found Not Responsible Because of Mental Illness Richard Rojas, a Navy veteran, spiraled after he was discharged. "He understood that his role saved lives of New Yorkers today.". At this time, there's nothing to indicate otherwise," an FBI official said. Trevor Bickford, 19, has been charged with attempted murder for attacking New York City police officers on New Year's Eve near Times Square. Mike Driscoll, assistant director for the New York FBI field office, said at the press conference that agents are working very closely with the NYPD to determine the nature of this attack. Driscoll declined to offer any further details. Police officials say they are reviewing the body-worn camera footage the officers were wearing at the time of the attack. 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.. Primary Menu Sections Skip to search results CBS2's Tim McNicholas spoke to that officer briefly Monday. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. "He was in good spirits. The FBI's Joint Terrorism task Force is also investigating. In Saturday's attack, the officers were initially hospitalized, one with a fractured skull and another with a bad cut, Sewell said. Trevor Bickford, 19, is expected to be arraigned on attempted murder charges soon. NBC New York's Myles Miller reports. comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment More posts you may like . "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. 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. Prosecutors countered that even if Mr. Rojas had been experiencing delusions during the incident, he was competent enough to know that he was harming people. Times Square bomber sentenced, warns of additional attacks. Then we pay respect and honor the fallen as we visit the September 11th Museum and Memorial. Police did not have a more exact number Sunday. Video shows the chaotic moments after the man allegedly attacked. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Informations sur votre appareil et sur votre connexion Internet, y compris votre adresseIP, Navigation et recherche lors de lutilisation des sites Web et applications Yahoo. One News Page Home; Editions. MEXICO CITY Tens of thousands of Mexicans protested on Sunday against an electoral reform approved by the ruling party-controlled congress that is widely perceived as an attack on democracy ahead of 2024 presidential polls.Political and civic organisations joined forces for the show of discontent, gathering on Mexico City's main square, Zocalo, and in other cities under the slogan # . But toxicology tests did not detect the powerful mood-altering drug in Mr. Rojass urine or blood, Mr. Peterson said, suggesting that was another indication that the defendant was aware of what he had done. The mother of the 19-year-old man accused of slashing two NYPD cops with a machete near Times Square on New Year's Eve had reported his sudden and inexplicable terrorist leanings to their local police department in southern Maine three weeks before the Global Edition. Mr. Rojas killed one person, Alyssa Elsman, 18, from Michigan, who was visiting New York City with relatives, and seriously injured several others, including Alyssas 13-year-old sister, Ava, who was treated for a collapsed lung and broken pelvis. And Mr. Rojas, he said, deserved punishment. The NYPD released a photo of the weapon they said was used to attack officers on New Year's Eve. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams) - 2NDW2TY from Alamy's library of . Anyone can read what you share. All rights reserved, charged with trying to murder NYPD officers in a New Year's Eve machete attack, Relative Alerted to Machete Man's Alleged Jihadist Views Before NYE Cop Attack: Sources. The Times Square attack was not Mr. Rojass first encounter with the law. "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. The suspect, hospitalized after an NYPD officer opened fire in defense, expressed pro-jihadist views overnight and possessed terrorist propaganda, law enforcement sources said. "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. "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. Sources also say the suspect told federal investigators he was targeting police. "Most prominently, Islamic State supporters have recently been resharing content that was produced in 2016 at the height of the Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliphate, meant to inspire lone actors to conduct low budget or self-starting attacks by using knives, trucks, cars, and other rudimentary weapons in order to cause havoc in public settings.". Three police officers were wounded in the attack by a 19-year-old male suspect who was shot in the shoulder and arrested, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a press conference with Mayor Eric Adams. Trevor Bickford's neighbors in his Maine hometown shocked by his alleged conversion to Islam, attack on NYPD cops on New Year's Eve. Maybe they come to the attention of law enforcement initially because of their online behavior, maybe its other behaviors theyre exhibiting that family or others observe.". 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 Authorities in New York City say the 19-year-old suspect who allegedly attacked three police officers with a machete at a New Years Eve celebration near Times Square, striking two of them, now faces terrorismcharges. "The male then struck two additional officers in the head with the machete.". For Estonia, the news represents a significant turning point in a long and difficult history for the country's Jewish community. 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. 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. ), ALSO READ | 'Eyewitness to 2022,' examining the stories that defined the year, * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. 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 . Investigators are looking at the possibility that he was radicalized by Islamic extremists and they are looking into a handwritten diary found in his backpack. Outside the courthouse, Thomas Elsman, the father of Alyssa, said that the verdict was more than disappointing. But Wells has, you know, a really small school system. Officials believed the suspect acted alone, and the FBI says there is no ongoing threat. Two teens suffered cuts after they were attacked by a man in Times Square early Wednesday morning, police said. "And then you hear a gunshot, and it just went crazy. Cop hanging out over Times Square. The NYPD mounts a massive security operation every year to keep the New Years Eve crowd safe. 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. A New Year's Eve machete rampage targeting police officers in Times Square is the latest example of law enforcement failing to prevent an individual already on their radar from carrying out an act of violence, prompting some counterterrorism experts to call for a new model for evaluating would-be attackers. Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. Multiple law enforcement officials said they were looking into whether the attacker traveled to New York specifically to target police on New Years Eve. A month after an insane attack on Times Square by a driver who ploughed through a crowd killing a woman and injuring 22 people, thousands brought an outpouring of peace through yoga on. He is due back in court Feb. 1. "He was in good spirits," Adams said. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs, which detonated 14 seconds and 210 yards (190 m) apart at 2:49 p.m., near the finish line of the race, killing three people and injuring hundreds of others . Sewell said the attack was unprovoked. Multiple law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Trevor Bickford, 19, of Wells, Maine. The horrifying episode unfolded at 9:40 a.m . Terrorist-related propaganda and personal writings were found in his backpack, they said. He said that the FBI believes the attacker was acting alone. All three officers Bickford is accused of attacking were released from the hospital the following morning. Many defendants in the American legal system suffer from mental illness, treated or untreated. Authorities say Bickford whipped out a machete and attacked the three officers, striking two of them in the head. "All three of the officers are in stable conditions and there are no critical threats to New Yorkers at this time.". The official could not publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. 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 . The suspect, reportedly from Maine, had no previous arrest record, but was known to federal and local law enforcement because of previous online postings, police sources told NBC and ABC News. Relatives had reportedly contacted law enforcement in recent weeks to report their concerns that he was gravitating toward dangerous Islamist ideologies. 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. He is charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and two counts of attempted assault. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Monday prohibited television news channels from covering terrorist attacks, Pakistan based The News International Newspaper reported. 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. I was just shocked, you know?" 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 say Bickford whipped. The judge who heard the case, Daniel Conviser, ordered that Mr. Rojas be held, and said he would draft an examination order. Investigators are interested in what brought him to the park in a remote part of the city and whether he intended to meet anyone. "Wells is a very small community and you think, you know, 'Did this really just happen here?' "Like, I'm sure in the back of all of our minds, now this could be a target for, you know, shooting. Counsel also referenced the Wells man's community ties and said he worked at a golf course. NEW YORK - Authorities in New York City say the 19-year-old suspect who allegedly attacked three police officers with a machete at a New Years Eve celebration near Times Square, striking two of them, now faces terrorismcharges. 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. Global; United . He realized the situation he was in and offered an excuse, Mr. Peterson told jurors. NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell has said two of the cops suffered blows to the head. The authority`s directives came after its earlier directives on the issue urging TV channels to adhere to the Electronic Media Code of Conduct 2015. Were not dealing with a group of sophisticated, ideologically motivated foreign terrorists. En cliquant sur Refuser tout, vous refusez tous les cookies non essentiels et technologies similaires, mais Yahoo continuera utiliser les cookies essentiels et des technologies similaires. Please enter valid email address to continue. ", Cohen said much of the new model for assessing the risk of such individuals is detailed in a 2015 FBI report titled, "Making Prevention a Reality.". This 26-Year-Old Pays $0 to Live in a Luxury Tiny Home' She Built for $35,000 in Her Backyard Take a Look Inside, Kylie Jenner's Ex, Rapper Travis Scott, Wanted in $12,000 Manhattan Nightclub Mayhem, Winter Storm May Bring More NYC Snow Friday and a Complex Mess to Millions: What to Expect. 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. Still, police allege he was able to carry out what could be New York's latest terror attack. "He stated he specifically targeted the uniformed police officer because an officer is a man in uniform with a weapon and often in the military are targets for the defendant," Nicholas added as she formally requested remand. Staff and customers could be seen looking outside at what they thought were two people fighting. Both federal and local law enforcement stressed at Sunday morning's news conference the attack appeared to be an isolated incident and there was no longer a threat. 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. 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. 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." A year before he killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis in 2021, Brandon Scott Hole was taken into custody by police and temporarily placed in a mental detention facility for further assessment after his mother complained he assaulted her when she asked what he was going to do with the gun, officials said. They look at individuals holistically. Vous pouvez modifier vos choix tout moment en consultant vos paramtres de vie prive. Concern about the safety of everyone was there, they immediately terminated the threat. Prosecutors said he was culpable, but. 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. John Cohen, a former U.S. Department of Homeland Security acting undersecretary for intelligence, said the case is the latest in a string of attacks nationwide where law enforcement made contact with a suspect prior to an attack and assessed the potential for them to carry out a violent act. Bickford has no prior arrests. Another hurt officer had just graduated from the police academy on Friday, and as is traditionally the case, his first assignment was the New Year's Eve detail in Times Square. 1:15. Trusted News Discovery Since 2008. (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. That voice played a key role in the incident on Seventh Avenue, Mr. De Marco, the defense lawyer, told jurors during his summation, saying that a godlike person called James commands him to crash his car into people., Hes following a command from a supernatural being, Mr. De Marco added. The Dutch Embassy in Cairo issued a statement saying a 22-year-old Dutch woman was attacked in Tahrir Square on Friday night. In a public statement made announcing the . Investigators were probing whether he stayed at a homeless shelter downtown, the four officials said. It was discovered in a wooded area, along with a bag containing food and a sleeping bag. IE 11 is not supported. The actions that police officers must take every day are life-threatening situations," Adams said. Sophisticated, ideologically motivated foreign terrorists two of them in the American legal system suffer from illness. 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