A man accused of attacking police with a machete near New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve, injuring two officers, was arrested Monday on attempted murder charges, police said Monday.
Trevor Bickford, 19, also faces attempted assault charges, the New York Police Department said in a release.
Bickford was hospitalized after police shot him in the shoulder during the confrontation and was awaiting arraignment. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he had a lawyer who could speak to the allegations.
A law enforcement official has told The Associated Press that investigators were looking into whether he was inspired by radical Islamic extremism.
The violence happened about two hours before midnight Saturday, just outside the high-security zone where revelers are screened for weapons before gaining entry to one of the world’s biggest and most famous New Year’s celebrations.
Two of the officers were struck with the machete before the suspect was shot, authorities said. The two officers were hospitalized, one with a fractured skull and the other with a bad cut, and were expected to recover. So was the suspect.
