Man arrested for attempted murder in machete attack

NEW YORK (AP) — A man accused of attacking police officers with a machete near New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve, injuring two officers, was arrested on Monday for attempted murder, police said Monday.

Trevor Bickford, 19, also faces attempted assault charges, the New York Police Department said in a statement.

Bickford was hospitalized after police shot him in the shoulder during the confrontation and is awaiting arraignment. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak to the allegations.

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that investigators are investigating whether he was inspired by radical Islamic extremism.

The violence happened around two hours before midnight on Saturday, just outside the high-security zone where revelers are checked for weapons before entering one of the most important New Year’s Eve celebrations and the most famous in the world.

Two of the officers were struck with the machete before the suspect was shot, authorities said. Both officers were hospitalized, one with a fractured skull and the other with a bad cut, and were expected to recover. The suspect too.

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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington, Michael Balsamo in Kansas City, Missouri, and Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.