Radical Islamist attacks New York City police at New Year’s Eve event
02 Jan 2023 12:52:21
New York, January 02: In a shocking development, an Islamist who was on the watch list of the FBI has attacked two New York Police Department (NYPD) officers with a machete just outside the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration. The attacker slashed the police officer’s head with the machete prompting another officer identified as Michael Hanna to shoot him. Hanna was also a Rookie cop. The suspect was hit on the shoulder.
Another cop identified as Louis Iorio, who was an 8-year veteran, was also injured and suffered a laceration on the head. Hanna was also injured in the attack and rushed to Mt Siani West hospital.
Another cop identified as Louis Iorio, who was an 8-year veteran, was also injured and suffered a laceration on the head. Hanna was also injured in the attack and rushed to Mt Siani West hospital.
The attacker has been identified as Trevor Bickford. The police arrested the suspect at the scene and taken to Bellevue hospital. 19-year-old Bickford seems to have been recently radicalised by Islamic extremists. According to the New York Post, law enforcement agencies are investigating the case and checking his internet history to understand the timeline of his radicalisation.
Paul and the other officer were immediately rushed to Bellevue hospital. Another cop was injured while removing the barricades to allow cop cars to reach the incident spot. However, while removing the barricades, one of the cop cars hit, and a barricade fell on the cop who was removing them. He was rushed to the nearest hospital and expected to recover.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement that the officer sustained a large laceration and fracture on the skull. As per reports, Paul graduated on December 30 and was assigned to a Staten Island precinct. However, for the New Year’s Eve detail, he was stationed at West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue, where the incident happened at around 9:30 PM. There were two other officers with him.
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Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement that the attack was “unprovoked”. Both officers are expected to recover soon. Adams and Sewell said in their statements that no “active threats” were there to the community.
Furthermore, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Joint Terrorism Task Force has reportedly joined the investigation. In another report, it was mentioned that the attacker was on FBI’s “Guardian Watchlist”. He was allegedly planning to travel to Afghanistan to fight alongside the terrorists. The Post quoted an unnamed police source saying, “No backpacks or umbrellas in Times Square. They forgot to mention machetes.”
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