NEW YORK— Following the deadly attack in New Orleans early Wednesday morning, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York City Police Department say there are no credible threats to the state or city, but local and state law enforcement are on high alert.
Police say a man deliberately drove into a crowd celebrating the new year in New Orleans’ French Quarter. At least 15 people have died, and dozens are injured. Police shot and killed the attacker, and the incident is being investigated as terrorism.
Gov. Hochul, Mayor Adams respond to New Orleans attack
NYPD officials say the department has been operating in a high-risk environment since the October 7 attacks in Israel in 2023.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams wrote on X, “It’s heartbreaking to wake up and learn about the horrific terrorist attack in New Orleans this morning. I’m praying for the victims who died, those who were injured, and the city that is mourning today. We are ready to assist in any way we can.”
Adams stated that security has been beefed up at potential New York City targets.
“New York is always a popular target. Today, we deployed police personnel to the appropriate locations,” he said.
Law enforcement sources tell CBS News New York that the New Orleans attack and the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside a Trump Hotel in Las Vegas have resulted in increased deployments at Trump Tower.
“We’re going to remain vigilant as people move about their daily lives here,” Adams told the crowd.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch wrote in a statement:
According to law enforcement sources, the joint terrorism task force and the NYPD are monitoring the New Orleans investigation in real time.
Security in Times Square for New Year’s Eve
According to law enforcement sources, an FBI bulletin issued in December addressed concerns about vehicle rammings on New Year’s Eve.
The ball dropped at the Crossroads of the World on Tuesday night, with a record number of police officers present.
“We utilize technology. Obviously, our department’s manpower and womanpower, as well as all of our partners, whether they are private sector partners with whom we’ve been working all year,” said NYPD Intelligence and Counterterrorism Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Weiner.
This year, the NYPD extended the frozen zone into which vehicles are not permitted to enter in order to prevent a vehicle attack.
Weiner announced on Monday that crosstown streets would be blocked off with sanitation trucks, sand trucks, and blocker cars.
“It’s a way to harden our perimeter around an area that is very densely populated with buildings and people, and obviously you want to prevent ingress of a vehicle,” she went on:
Visitors in NYC have mixed feelings on safety
Lisa Rozner of CBS News New York reported seeing four counterterrorism officers in Times Square on Wednesday afternoon.
Following the attack, visitors to New York City had mixed feelings about their safety.
“I feel very safe here in the last night,” said Yorlany Rojas, a visitor from Costa Rica.
“I am a retired bus operator for New York City Transit. I worked through 9/11. I worked through Sandy. Terence Layne, a Harlem resident, said, “I’ve worked through many of the calamities we’ve had, so for me, this is normal.”
“I feel relatively safe here, but that is what it is. Unfortunately, it occurs,” said Richard Gayton, a tourist from Michigan.
“Except for New Year’s Eve, when cops are on display, there is no police presence here. “I’m actually surprised that something like that hasn’t happened yet,” Astoria resident Nick Smith stated.
Deadly vehicle crashes in New York City
A similar act of terrorism occurred in New York City in October 2017, when Sayfullo Saipov killed eight people on the West Side Highway bike path with a leased truck.
Earlier that year, in May 2017, a motorist collided in Times Square, killing an 18-year-old woman and injured almost 20 others. That motorist was determined not to be at fault owing to mental illness.
The city has since constructed huge concrete barriers in congested pedestrian areas.
Former NYPD lieutenant Darrin Porcher stated that the agency has also revised its rules “in terms of how you engage an individual in a vehicle that is committing violence against civilians.”
“Now that policy has since changed, and now they’re affording police the opportunity to shoot and injure and possibly neutralize that bad actor,” Porcher told reporters.
He continued: “You have an intelligence unit within the NYPD that specifically focuses on threats outside of New York – whether it’s overseas, whether it’s domestically, and they embrace those teachable moments.”