In NY, officers with assault rifles stood guard in Times Square, and extra security was stationed at French-owned sites in Washington and consulates in Boston and NY City.
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The NYPD dispatched counterterrorism forces to crowded areas around NY City Friday night after a series of coordinated terror attacks in Paris killed dozens. The NY Police Department deployed its “Critical Response Command” – officers equipped with heavy weapons and other tactical equipment – to locations that included transportation hubs and the Broadway theater district.
A US official briefed by the Justice Department said intelligence officials have detected increased chatter encouraging an attack on the USA but nothing of any credible substance.
“A council of defense has been convened for Saturday at 9:00 a.m. (0800 GMT)”.
The shootings and explosions at a concert hall hosting an American rock band, a restaurant and elsewhere in Paris marked the deadliest violence to strike France since World War II.
A woman shops for produce next to a peace sign drawn in solidarity to the people of Paris at the framers market in New York’s Union Square, Saturday, November 14, 2015.
Sports-venue officials were mindful of security after Friday’s Paris attacks, which included suicide bombings outside the Stade de France during a soccer match between France and Germany. League officials discouraged fans from bringing bags.
The Port Authority of NY and New Jersey said police were on heightened alert at all of the agency’s bridges, tunnels and rail facilities, as well as at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. Washington police spokesman Officer Sean Hickman said that additional law enforcement officers were deployed to French-owned sites and other important locations just to make sure nothing happens, while in Boston the MA State Police said “a comprehensive and multi-layered security package” was in place at Logan worldwide Airport and patrols were placed near the State House, according to the same source.
The department also said the its intelligence bureau was conducting liaison activities to assist Paris police.
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The city’s Police Department has detectives from its intelligence division stationed in France. Eurostar, which runs rail service from the British capital to Paris and Brussels, also offered customers traveling Saturday the option of changing their bookings to later dates.
