(NEW YORK) — Trevor Bickford is expected to plead guilty Thursday to federal charges stemming from a 2022 New Year’s Eve knife attack on three New York Police Department officers manning a checkpoint on the Times Square periphery, according to sources.
Bickford, who was 19 when he carried out the alleged attack, came from Maine in December 2022 intending to carry out a jihadist attack on officers in uniform, prosecutors said.
He was charged with four counts of attempted murder of officers and employees of the U.S. government and persons assisting them, according to a federal complaint.
Bickford allegedly told investigators the attack was unsuccessful because none of the officers died and because he did not achieve martyrdom, according to the complaint from the Southern District of New York.
Bickford was shot and arrested by officers on Dec. 31, 2022, after he allegedly attacked three NYPD officers with an 18-inch kukri knife near West 52nd Street and Eighth Avenue, outside the secure area that had been set up for New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The attack prompted security adjustments for this year’s New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square.
It was not immediately clear what charge or charges Bickford would plead guilty to or what, if anything, he might receive in return from federal prosecutors.
He faces separate charges by the Manhattan district attorney.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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