Vigilance key but not profiling

IT WILL be easy for many to criticise the police response at Grand Central yesterday, but thought needs to be given to the bigger picture.

The grim reality of our society is we are living in a world where routine and everyday activities can become scenes of heartbreak and horror.

As we have seen in London, something routine like dinner with friends can turn into a nightmare.

Music festivals - places of joy for the young and old - are targets for callous killers.

The effects are felt around the world, leaving millions shocked and stunned that such a small minority can impact the majority.

So when the Grand Central evacuation is viewed in that context, the response by police is entirely justified.

A question which we all must ask is what it was about those two men walking into the centre, at 5.42am with a box cutter and paint scraper, piqued the security guard’s suspicions.

The two men were going to work - another routine thing that has been impacted by global terror events.

We need to be vigilant, but we can’t allow ourselves to fall to racial and religious profiling.