Extra Security, Frayed nerves in a post-paris NYC News
Police deployed extra units to crowded areas of the city and were on heightened alert after the terrorist attacks in Paris. New York officials said they were acting out of abundance of caution and there were no known threats to the area.
“Every time we see an attack like this, it is not only sobering, it is a reminder to be prepared, to be vigilant, and to make sure that we are reinforcing in places where there would be the greatest likelihood of a potential follow-up attack,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in an interview with WABC-TV. But the mayor stressed “there are no specific threats directed at New York City that we know of at this time.”
The Police Department said there was “no indication that the attack has any nexus to New York City.” Police officials sent security units to French government locations in the city immediately after the attacks. Heavily armed officers were stationed near the French consulate in Manhattan, and two officers stood guard in front of the door. A small bundle of yellow roses sat on a planter near the door.
Later, in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Bratton said he believes New York is “the most likely target” for another ISIS attack, and he said the department is studying the Paris massacre, sending a NYPD counterterrorism force to France to study the tactics used there. We are the symbol “of all they hate,” he said.
The city’s Police Department has detectives from its intelligence division stationed in France. Those detectives are serving as liaisons and will help police in Paris as needed, police said.
“We are monitoring very, very closely the situation with our federal partners and obviously with the folks we have in Paris,” de Blasio said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ordered state law enforcement officials to remain vigilant after the attacks, said the 408-foot spire atop One World Trade Center would be lit blue, white and red in honor of dozens killed in Paris. Meanwhile, the Empire State Building went dark at 10 p.m. Friday “in sympathy for Paris,” managers of the iconic building tweeted.
“We join them in mourning those who were killed, and in praying for those who were injured or lost loved ones,” he said. “And we continue to stand side by side with them in our commitment to a free and peaceful world.”
In a video on Monday, ISIS warned that countries taking part in air strikes against Syria would suffer the same fate as France, and threatened to attack in Washington.
Reuters reported that the video, which appeared on a website used by Islamic State to post its messages, begins with news footage of the aftermath of Friday’s Paris shootings, in which at least 129 people were killed.
The message to countries involved in what it called the “crusader campaign” was delivered by a man dressed in fatigues and a turban, and identified in subtitles as Al Ghareeb the Algerian.
“We say to the states that take part in the crusader campaign that, by God, you will have a day, God willing, like France’s and by God, as we struck France in the center of its abode in Paris, then we swear that we will strike America at its center in Washington,” the man said.
It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the video, which purports to be the work of Islamic State fighters in the Iraqi province of Salahuddine, north of Baghdad.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security would not comment on the video but said it has not received information indicating a potential attack.
“While we take all threats seriously, we do not have specific credible information of an attack on the U.S. homeland,” a DHS official said on condition of anonymity.