Heavy security in Las Vegas
A record number of law enforcement officers and soldiers will be on duty three months after the mass shooting.
LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas officials are expecting lower-than-normal attendance at the New Year’s Eve celebration on the famed Strip, but in light of October’s mass shooting, security will be at its highest level in years.
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said last week that the Homeland Security Department had raised the New Year’s Eve celebration to the highest security level under its special events protocols — SEAR level 1. In years past, it was level 3.
He said the change will bring snipers with spotters, extra air support, more medical equipment and personnel, and mobile command posts staffed by federal authorities. The same security classification and measures are afforded to the Super Bowl and political party conventions for presidential nominations.
Lombardo said there would be more than 1,500 local police officers deployed for a three-day window.
Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak said he understood New Year’s Eve revelers might be worried about safety after the Oct. 1 mass shooting, and he sought to assuage those concerns.
“Nobody puts on a New Year’s Eve show like Las Vegas, and never will it be as safe as it will be this year,” Sisolak said. “The safety measures in place are impressive.”
It’s been three months since 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire from his 32nd floor hotel room at Mandalay Bay into a crowd of more than 20,000 people at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on the Strip. He killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more before killing himself.
The FBI has revealed little about Paddock’s motives. Special Agent in Charge Aaron Rouse has said the FBI would issue a report sometime before the the anniversary of the shooting.
Adrienne Packer, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Transportation, said the 3-mile stretch would be closed to traffic beginning at 5 p.m. and wouldn’t be open again until about 5 a.m. Jan. 1.
She said her department would spent $350,000 on protective measures — up from $120,000 last year. She also said her agency would be getting help from other departments, and that authorities would be in plain clothes during the festivities.
“Everybody in the wake of Oct. 1 is very sensitive to safety,” Packer said.