Houston Chronicle

Houston police beef up security for Wednesday’s U2 concert at NRG Stadium.

- By Mike Glenn mike.glenn@chron.com twitter.com/mrglenn

Fans of U2 should expect to see some beefedup security measures at Wednesday’s concert at NRG Stadium as a result of Monday’s bombing in Manchester, England that killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande show.

On Tuesday, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said the department routinely reviews security procedures before any large-scale event.

“We have taken out and dusted off our plans to make sure we are not missing anything,” he said at a news conference. “We’re always looking at what’s going on at all special events in our city.”

Acevedo said there are no known terrorist threats in the Houston area. The Houston Police Department is in routine contact with state and federal law enforcemen­t agencies, he said.

Officials at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion said they would be stepping up their security, too.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragedy in Manchester (Monday) night, our hearts and thoughts are with those impacted by the devastatin­g incident. The safety of our guests, staff and artists is always our top priority,” Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion president and CEO Jerry Macdonald said in a statement.

Bags, purses and backpacks larger than 8½ by 11 inches were not allowed at Tuesday night’s John Legend concert, and all bags were subject to a search.

An engaged community is part of the city’s defense plan, Acevedo said. “With so much critical infrastruc­ture here, there’s a lot going on,” he added.

The chief asked local residents to pay attention to their surroundin­gs and report any suspicious packages. Activities that seem out of place — such as someone wearing heavy clothing during the summer or taking photograph­s of essential industries like refineries — also should be reported.

“When you see something very suspicious, let us know,” Acevedo said.

Anyone with informatio­n about activity that appears suspicious can make a report at iwatchhous­ton.org or call 1-844-iWatch4.

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