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“The enemy we face is persistent and adaptive. But they should know this: Americans will not be coerced by terrorism, and we will not allow it to become the new normal. We will fight back aggressively.” Kirstjen Nielsen Secretary of Homeland Security
Big-city police departments in New York and beyond boosted uniformed patrols of transportation hubs Monday after a bombing near Times Square but said the attack appeared to be isolated with no immediate threat elsewhere.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said “you’ll see additional officers out in force” as police secure all transit hubs and major sites in the city.
“When we hear about an attack on the subway, it’s incredibly unsettling,” de Blasio said at a news conference.
Other police departments said they were monitoring the threat but didn’t find specific plots against their cities.
The Boston Police Department said patrols were increasing around Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority facilities. The Chicago Police Department said officers would be highly visible at transit hubs, Chicago Transit Authority subway stations and Metra commuter rail stops.
In New York, airports, train and bus stations, bridges and tunnels were given more security, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The patrols will step on and off trains and will provide more bag inspections and surveillance, and state police and the National Guard will double their staffing in the city.
Police canine teams and units with heavy weapons as well as plainclothes officers will provide extra protection around Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which includes the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North, also will see more patrols.
“We are stepping up security measures at high-profile locations and transportation hubs while the investigation progresses,” Cuomo said. “We will remain vigilant.”
But Cuomo encouraged everyone “to go about their business and live their lives without fear.”
The New York Police Department said more officers will be on duty across the city despite the lack of “other specif- ic and credible threats against NYC at this time.”
Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of Homeland Security, spoke Monday with de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill and said federal authorities would assist New York in the investigation.
“The enemy we face is persistent and adaptive,” Nielsen said. “But they should know this: Americans will not be coerced by terrorism, and we will not allow it to become the new normal. We will fight back aggressively and bring terrorists to justice.”
Akayed Ullah, 27, was arrested after a pipe bomb detonated about 7:20 a.m. on a subway platform beneath Times Square. Three people suffered minor injuries, and Ullah was injured.
O’Neill said the attack was a terrorrelated strike inspired by the Islamic State. But law enforcement officials said Ullah apparently didn’t have direct contact with the terror group.
Eight subway lines that run through Times Square bypassed the station temporarily while police investigated, but train service resumed by 11 a.m. The Port Authority Bus Terminal, the country’s largest bus hub, also was evacuated and later reopened.
The House Homeland Security Committee warned in a report this month that as the Islamic State lost militarily in Syria and Iraq, the group was shifting to terror attacks in the U.S. and Europe. Other attacks have included vehicles ramming pedestrians, such as along a bike path in New York on Oct. 31 and a truck attack at a Christmas market in Berlin a year ago.
The United States “must remain vigilant and strengthen our security to prevent more people from being radicalized and do all we can to thwart potential attacks,” Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said.