The suspect arrested in the stabbing of two New York City police officers on New Year’s Eve is believed to have penned a manifesto urging his family to “repent to Allah and accept Islam,” according to a report on Sunday. .
The New York Post report comes after investigators investigated whether the attacker, 19-year-old Trevor Bickford of Maine, harbored radical Islamic views due to his recent online activity.
The weapon allegedly used by an anonymous attacker to stab two New York police officers.
(NYPD Crime Stoppers)
Law enforcement sources told The Post that Bickford traveled to New York City days before the attack and checked in at the Bowery Mission in Manhattan. He was reportedly carrying various religious materials, $200 and a handwritten note.
“To my family, specifically my mother, I’m sorry I wasn’t a good enough son,” the note reads. “I am very afraid that you will not repent before Allah. Therefore, I have it in my heart that a part of you believes so that you may be taken to the fires of hell.”
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Bickford reportedly tells his brother Travis: “Of everyone I’ve ever met, the one I’ve found closest to the faith is you.”
“Of anyone who wanted to accept Islam with me, it is you. Please repent to Allah and accept Islam. I fear for you,” Bickford reportedly wrote.
Authorities hold a press conference about the stabbing of two NYPD officers.
(Credible)
Bickford writes to his brother, Devon, who is in the Marine Corps: “There was a time when we were close, but that time is past.”
“You have joined the ranks of my enemy. And that is why I cannot give you kind words: return to Allah.”
The FBI and officers from the Wells Police Department were investigating Bickford’s home, according to local media reports.
The FBI told Fox News Digital that it is “currently conducting court authorized activity in connection with an ongoing federal investigation” without elaborating.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the NYPD and the Wells Police Department for additional comment.
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The Portland Press Herald reports that Bickford competed in soccer and wrestling while in high school and was a member of Wells High School’s 2020 state championship wrestling team.
His father, Tom, died in 2018, according to an obituary. It was said that he had a “very active” role in the lives of his three children.
Bickford is accused of stabbing two officers at a security checkpoint near Times Square on New Year’s Eve. The motive remains under investigation.
A senior law enforcement source also told Fox News Digital that Bickford was being watched by the FBI’s counterterrorism task force in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s attack. The source also said that Bickford recently converted to Islam and an insider claimed that he had expressed an interest in going to Afghanistan.
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A rookie officer, on his first night on watch, received a cut to the head, prompting another nearby officer to shoot Bickford. That officer was also struck, but was not seriously injured. The rookie officer, identified by authorities only as Paul, is expected to recover.
Anders Hagstrom and Alexis McAdams of Fox News contributed to this report.
