'All-American jihadi' who stabbed NYPD cop in Times Square on NYE arraigned from hospital bed

The alleged 'All-American jihadi' who stabbed three NYPD cops in Times Square on New Year's Eve wanted 'to kill and carry out jihad', a court has heard.

Trevor Bickford, 19, tried to grab an officer's gun 'to kill them' before he slashed them with a machete, his arraignment hearing was told.

Manhattan Criminal Court also heard him say Muslim US officials were fair to target because 'they can't be proper Muslims... because the government supports Israel'.

He was arraigned from his bed at Bellevue Hospital on Wednesday and was charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault.

During his arraignment, Bickford was ordered and held without bail. He did not enter a plea.

If convicted, he faces a mandatory life sentence on charges of attempted murder of a police officer. His next court date is scheduled for Friday.

The radicalized teen, from Wells, Maine, took the Amtrak down to the city with plans to target isolated officers, prosecutors told Manhattan Criminal Court.

Bickford allegedly stabbed three officers - rookies Paul Cozzolino, Michael Hanna and Louis Iorio with an 18-inch blade during the vicious rampage on New Year's Eve.

Trevor Bickford also tried to grab an officer's gun 'to kill them' before he slashed them with a machete, his arraignment hearing was told

DailyMail.com can reveal NYPD officers Paul Cozzolino (left) and Louis Ioirio (center) were injured in the attack. A third officer Mickel Hanna (right) had fired at Bickford in response 

Bickford allegedly slashed two officers with this machete on 8th Avenue near Times Square around 10pm Saturday night where thousands of revelers prepared to ring in the new year

In court documents prosecutors highlight part of the interview Bickford allegedly told investigators after the New York's Eve attack when he went on an extremist Islamist rage.

'I wanted to kill an officer in uniform. I saw the officer and waited until he was alone. I said, 'Allauh Akbar,' Bickford said. 

'I walked up and hit him over the head with a kukri. I charged another officer but dropped the knife and I tried to get the police officer's gun but couldn't.'

Assistant District Attorney Lucy Nicholas told the judge, the 'defendant admitted that he purposely waited until he saw a moment when the officer was isolated and not near any civilians when he could attack him.'

He said after he dropped his knife after attacking the first officer, he wanted to grab the other officer's firearm to kill them but was unable to get the gun out of the holster,' Nicholas said.

'He specifically targeted a uniformed police officer because an officer is a man in a uniform with a weapon.'

The Legal Aid Society that is representing Bickford issued a statement, WGME reported.

'Trevor Bickford, who is just a teenager, has no prior contact with the criminal legal system.

'Earlier today, Mr. Bickford was arraigned from Bellevue Hospital after languishing in NYPD custody for nearly four days despite a well-established court requirement that an arraignment take place within 24-hours of arrest,'; they wrote.

Bickford (on far right) is pictured on many social media posts with brothers Devin and Travis

Bickford's mother has a slew of photos on her Facebook page where she gushes about the 19-year-old, calling him an 'old soul' and says she's lucky to be his mother

'We've just received initial discovery from the District Attorney's office, and we'll have more to say about this case after a thorough review and investigation.

'For now, we ask the public to refrain from drawing hasty conclusions and to respect the privacy of our client's family.'

During the attack, Bickford was carrying a handwritten diary professing his desire to join the Taliban in Afghanistan, also writing that he he wished to die as a martyr, CNN reported, citing law enforcement sources.

After Bickford allegedly slashed two officers shortly before midnight Saturday, another NYPD officer shot him in the shoulder and he was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, along with the two cops. They are all expected to survive.

On Sunday, the FBI raided the teen's family home in Wells, Maine, where Bickford was by all appearances an upstanding high school student before allegedly radicalizing himself to Islamic extremism.

In addition to the diary, Bickford reportedly carried a chilling letter in which he he urged his family to 'repent to Allah' so they 'may be taken out of the hellfire.'

'To my family — specifically, mother — I'm sorry for not having been a good enough son,' the note read, according to a police source who spoke with the New York Post. 

Photos posted online by his family show Bickford with his brothers or with his dog

The note, which has not been released publicly, continued with Bickford allegedly writing his hopes that his family will one day see the world the way he does. 

Before the attack on New Year's Eve, Bickford had been an honor roll student, won awards for his artwork, and was a member of the championship football team in his hometown. 

But after his father died of a drug overdose in 2018, it appears Bickford's life descended into turmoil. 

His dad Thomas Bickford died unexpectedly in 2018 at age 41, according to his obit

'I fear greatly that you will not repent to Allah,' he wrote in the note to family reported by the Post. 'And therefore I hold hope in my heart that a piece of you believes so that you may be taken out to the hellfire.'

Bickford went on to call his brother Devon a traitor for serving in the U.S. Army. 

'To Devon, there was a time when we were close, but that time has passed,' the manifesto said, according to the Post.  

'You have joined the ranks of my enemy. And for that I can give you no kind words – return to Allah,' wrote the 19-year-old, who does not have a criminal record according to a preliminary investigation. 

'To [my brother] Travis. Of anyone I've known who I have felt is closest to faith — it's you,' Bickford allegedly wrote. 

'Of anyone I've ever wanted to accept Islam with me — it's you. Please repent to Allah and accept Islam. I fear for you.' 

On Saturday night, Bickford allegedly attacked two NYPD police officers on Eighth Avenue between 51st and 52nd Street, right outside Times Square where thousands of revelers were ringing in the new year.

Another officer shot at Bickford, striking him in the shoulder. He remains hospitalized at the Bellevue and charges are pending. 

Bickford's house is located on Alpine Street in Wells, Maine - nearly five hours north of NYC

The whole family is pictured at the Tower of Terror in Disney World

Bickford does not have a criminal record according to a preliminary investigation, but police sources say the FBI's field office in Boston has an open case on him.

Authorities have told NBC they were looking into whether the suspect had previously posted what they called jihadist writings online and then traveled to New York City to target police.

Photos posted to Facebook show Bickford at different times of his life, many with his two brothers Devin and Travis.

There are photos of him playing football with the championship Wells High School Warriors football team, singing in the choir, and marching with the color guard.

As recently as 2020, he was among a group of students to win awards for their artwork. Bickford won for his work in jewelry, Seacoastonline reported at the time.

Prior to his death in 2018 - reportedly of a drug overdose - his father Thomas Bickford proudly posted photos of his sons and their achievements.

Family and friends were quick to praise the boys and their bright futures. Bickford's father died at the age of 41, according to his obituary.

His parents Thomas and Audra D'Antilio married on September 9, 2001, and raised three sons, Devin, Trevor, and Travis, in Wells, Maine.

The patriarch of the family could often be found coaching them at football and wrestling, according to the obituary.

It also said he was sometimes hard on his sons in terms of his style of coaching, but 'he loved his boys more than anything.'

Another officer fired on the suspect, hitting him in the shoulder. All of the injured were taken to Bellevue Hospital where they are in serious but stable condition, officials have said

Bickford's mother Audra D'Antilio, who eventually remarried, also has a slew of photos on her Facebook page where she gushes about her son, calling him an 'old soul' and writes that she feels lucky to be his mother.

On July 28, she shared a photo of Bickford for his 19th birthday and wrote: 'Happy 19th Birthday Trevor. So proud and lucky to be able to call you my son.

'You're an old soul and you amaze me every day with all that you enjoy to explore and do. I love that you have no fear of trying new things, and you truly are the best brother ever. I am so beyond proud of the man you are becoming, I love you.'

Just six months later, Bickford is being accused of the attacks on the NYPD officers. Bickford and the cops are all at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, where are all expected to survive.

Michael Driscoll, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York field office, said the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force in New York City was investigating but investigators believe the attacker acted alone. 

The attack happened just outside of the high-security zone where thousands of revelers were screened for weapons as they prepared to ring in 2023.

Bickford is accused of slashing one officer in the head, striking a second officer with the machete, and swinging at a third cop, who fired his weapon, striking Bickford in the shoulder.

The attack and sound of a gunshot briefly sent some people running, but the festivities in Times Square continued uninterrupted.

Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference early Sunday that he spoke 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.'