The New York Police Department assured parade-goers that the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is safe to attend, and there has not been confirmation of any credible threat against the event.
“There will be a cop on every block,” said NYPD Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan ahead of the annual event. He also called on parade-goers who see anything suspicious to “go to that cop and say something.”
“We had a couple of tough months as a nation,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill said, referencing the recent mass shootings that took place in Las Vegas and Texas and the deadly terror attack that rocked lower Manhattan less than a month ago.
In preparation, the city has lined up dozens of sanitation trucks to act as barriers at every cross street along the parade route. The trucks, which already weigh 16 tons, will be filled with sand to help prevent the use of these vehicles as weapons, according to the Associated Press.
The NYPD also plans to have sharpshooters on rooftops and officers armed with assault weapons and radiation detectors walking on the ground.
“I want to assure the people that we swore to protect that anytime something happens anywhere in the world, the NYPD works with our law enforcement partners and studies it, and we learn from it, and it informs our decision-making going forward,” O’Neill said.
The 91st annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade marches through the heart of Manhattan and draws crowds from all over the world. In the past, the Islamic State has called the parade an “excellent target.”
