PICTURED: Times Square ‘jihadist’, 19, who stabbed rookie NYPD cop with a machete on New Year’s Eve

The alleged Islamic extremist who stabbed a rookie NYPD cop in the head with a machete in Times Square on New Year’s Eve has been pictured.

Trevor Bickford, 19, from Wells, Maine, is seen in unsuspecting photographs shared by his mother on Facebook from his birthday in the summer.

She refers to him as an ‘old soul’ and repeatedly tells him how much she loves him after he left their home for Seattle in September.

Her social media also reveals her other son Devin is in the US Army, with him pictured alongside the suspected jihadist in one shot.

It comes after Bickford allegedly slashed two officers with a machete on 8th Avenue near Times Square around 10pm last night.

Another 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.

There appears to be no criminal record for Bickford, police sources said. But they say the FBI in Boston do have an open case on him. He is on a ‘guardian list’ because of his radicalization. The New York Post reports that Bickford apparently made statements to his aunt about a desire to go fight in Afghanistan, and she notified the authorities.  

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 pictured with his mother in post she shared on Facebook gushing about her son’s move to Seattle just two months ago

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

Both officers were slashed 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.’

One of the injured, Paul, had just graduated from the academy on Friday, is actually assigned to a precinct in Staten Island but was pulled into Manhattan for the New Year Eve celebrations, reports the New York Post.

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.’

Workers at a halal stand near the scene told the New York Daily News that they heard what they thought were explosions or gunshots,

‘I heard the sounds only — Bang! Bang!’ Prodip Bisws explained. ‘People were running, oh my god, they were running.’

A smiling Bickford is pictured in many of his mother’s social media posts

Bickford (left) is pictured with his family, along with his brother who is in the US Army

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

Video from the scene shows revelers being hurried from the scene by cops attempting to control the scene, located at 52nd street and 8th avenue. Officers can be seen screaming at pedestrians to move away from the crime scene.

While a witness told the newspaper, ‘They moved the barricades really fast. He was a police officer in front of the barricade area and he moved it for police cars to move fast — and that’s when the barricade fell and got hit by the car. He got double whammied.’

An investigation was underway to pinpoint a motive for the attack, but authorities said they didn’t believe there was any ongoing threat to the public.

Michael Driscoll, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said they believe the attacker acted alone.

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

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. 

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

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

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

The NYPD mounts a massive security operation every year to keep the New Year’s Eve crowd safe. Thousands of officers are deployed in the area, including many new recruits to the force.

The blocks where the biggest crowds gather to see performances and the midnight ball drop can only be accessed through checkpoints where officers use metal-detecting wands to screen for weapons. ‘

Large bags and coolers are banned. Barriers are set up to prevent vehicle attacks in the secure area.

The security perimeter can only extend so far, though. The attack took place on 8th Avenue, which is often packed with thick crowds navigating around the frozen zone or trying to find one of the secure entrances.

The attack was ‘unprovoked,’ Adams said at the press conference overnight. Both Sewell and Adams stressed there is no ‘active threat’ to the community