Soldiers and Airmen of the Massachusetts National Guard muster on the Boston Common to receive orders for a coordinated response in support of civilian authorities in the wake of the marathon bombings in Boston, April 15 2013 (Image source: National Guard via Flickr).
New York City law enforcement and national security officials are on high alert after a series of apparently coordinated explosions ripped through crowds of spectators and participants near the finish line of yesterday’s Boston Marathon.
Following the attacks – which killed at least three people and injured close to 200 more, security has been ramped up at high profile targets in New York known to draw large numbers of visitors.
According to the Daily News, “the NYPD deployed 100 critical response vehicles to Times Square” yesterday in the minutes after the 2:50 p.m. incident.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Mayor Michael Bloomberg are asking New Yorkers to remain vigilant.
“We don’t know the genesis of this. We don’t know who is responsible for it,” Kelly told NBC. “New Yorkers should be alert and we ask them to be aware of their surroundings.”
Bloomberg took to the airwaves to make a similar request for New Yorkers to “pick up the phone” if they see anything suspicious.
In Brooklyn, a Nets basketball game went on without incident Monday night, as Barclays Center security was reportedly heightened before the game against the Washington Wizards.
And with the New York Army National Guard anti-terror task force known as Empire Shield based out of Bay Ridge’s own Fort Hamilton, Southwest Brooklyn will most likely play an important role as a staging area in the weeks and months ahead, as it did in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life is an all-day amateur track meet that honors cancer survivors, and commemorates the millions of lives lost to the disease – all while raising money and awareness to both fund and encourage further medical research.