New Yorkers were gathering around the city Saturday to express solidarity with the people of Paris, joining supporters around the US holding vigils and rallies to mourn the victims of the terrorist rampage that left 129 dead and more than 350 wounded, 99 of them critically.
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The One World Trade Center spire was lit blue, white and red to honour around 140 people feared to have been killed in the attack.
Governor Cuomo said, “In times of darkness, we confront the hatred that drives terrorism and the tremendous pain and loss it can cause”. A NY Police Department statement released Friday stressed police have “no indication that the attack has any nexus to NY City”.
New York, Boston and other cities in the United States bolstered security on Friday night after deadly gun and bomb attacks on civilians in Paris, but law enforcement officials said the beefed-up police presence was precautionary rather than a response to any specific threats. It said it was increasing patrols and checking of buses and trains and passengers’ bags.
French consulates in NY and Boston received extra security along with French-owned sites in Washington.
A US official briefed by the Justice Department said intelligence officials have not heard of a specific or credible threat.
The National Football League said its “procedures have been certified and designated by the Department of Homeland Security since 2008 as effective anti-terrorism technology” and said “All National Football League clubs use mandatory metal detector screening and multiple layers of perimeter security external to the stadium to safeguard fans and the stadium from explosive threats”. The most popular sport, American football, would not have any games until Sunday as previously scheduled.
The National Basketball Association, which had 11 games on the schedule Friday night, said it was raising security at each of the places. Similarly the US Capitol Police in Washington has boosted up forces around the complex.
Outside of NY, law enforcement and transportation agencies said they were also on high alert. “There is now no known risk to the Capitol Complex”, the spokeswoman said in an email.
In Minnesota, a Bloomington police official said the force had no plans to increase security at the Mall of America, which sees a few 40 million visitors each year.
Chicago police were following developments in France to determine whether to bolster city security but was not aware of any immediate threats.
“Some of the streets of Paris are militarized, others are not”, Perez said.
Dozens of police vehicles left Occasions Sq. with lights and sirens blaring Saturday afternoon when the NY Police Division deployed its “Important Response Command” – officers outfitted with heavy weapons and different tactical tools – to strategic places, together with transportation hubs and the Broadway theater district. Police have been in contact with the French Consulate. The MTA Police Department has stepped up its uniformed and plainclothes presence in Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal as well as other major stations throughout the Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road network.
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U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Monday that protecting America from terrorist attacks is one of her highest priorities and the U.S.is taking “appropriate steps to ramp up our defenses”.
