An NYPD officer on his first day on the job was stabbed in the head with a machete by a 19-year-old who investigators believe may be an Islamic extremist during New Year’s Eve celebrations near Times Square.
The attack happened just after 10 p.m. about eight blocks from Times Square, just outside of the high-security zone where thousands of revelers were screened for weapons as they prepared to ring in 2023.
Trevor Bickford, 19, of Wells, Maine, allegedly approached the officers on 8th Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets armed with a large knife that he used to slash two of them, Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at an overnight press conference.
Both officers were slashes in their heads, including the rookie cop who suffered a a skull fracture along with an 8-year veteran who had a head laceration.
At a recent press conference, Mayor Eric Adams said he had spoken to one of the wounded officers as he was being stitched up at the hospital.
‘He was in good spirits,’ Adams said. ‘He understood that his role saved lives of New Yorkers today.’
The attack was ‘unprovoked,’ Adams said at the press conference overnight. Both Sewell and Adams stressed there is no ‘active threat’ to the community. The festivities continued uninterrupted.
The slashing unfolded just just outside the security zone in Times Square, where thousands gathered for the annual New Year’s Eve ball drop. Police screened revelers for contraband such as alcohol, large bags, and weapons.
A police source told the Post, ‘No backpacks or umbrellas in Time Square. They forgot to mention machetes.’Â
