Suspect charged with attacking police officers with machete near Times Square on New Year’s Eve

(NEW YORK) — The 19-year-old accused of attacking three police officers with a machete on New Year’s Eve near Times Square has been charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and two counts of attempted assault.

Trevor Bickford, from Maine, attacked the officers unprovoked after taking a train to the city on Dec. 29. His mother and aunt recently notified law enforcement about their concerns he was gravitating toward dangerous Islamist ideologies, law enforcement sources said.

Police found the suspect’s backpack at the scene, which contained a diary, sources said.

The final diary entry indicated the suspect thought he would die in the attack and asked for burial according to Islamic tradition, the sources said.

The three officers were released from the hospital on Sunday.