Law enforcement and security officials from Long Beach to the Inland Empire stepped up their monitoring of global terrorist incidents Thursday in the wake of an attack in France, which reports say killed more than 70 people.
There was no credible threat locally, but local police were being vigilant.
“We’re just closely monitoring what’s going on around the world and what’s going on in Los Angeles but there is no real active threat at this point,” said Los Angeles police Officer Tony Im of LAPD’s Media Relations Section. “We’re going to continue with the routine procedures.”
Officer Rob Pedregon, spokesperson for Ontario Airport Police, could not confirm or quantify whether security has been heightened at the airport as a result of Thursday’s attack in France. He said security analysts at Los Angeles World Airports “constantly monitor” such events, but keep mum about any changes that result so as not to tip off any would-be attackers.
“All I can do is say we take that information and adjust accordingly,” he said.
Los Angeles International Airport reported no changes in its security in the wake of the Nice attack.
“It’s normal airport operations and LAX is always on heightened alert and heightened security,” LAX spokeswoman Katherine Alvarado said.
LAX has no direct flights to Nice.
L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Ryan Rouzan said Thursday afternoon that “we’re not changing anything we’ve done on a daily basis.”
But he added that the sheriff’s department remained vigilant in monitoring events around the world.
Port of Los Angeles Port Police officials were communicating with local, state and federal law enforcement about the developments.
“Security is always a top priority at the port,” the department said in a written statement. “While the threat level has thus far not changed, we are taking steps behind the scenes to increase security, particularly at public locations and upcoming events at the port.”
Port of Long Beach officials echoed steps taken at their L.A. counterpart.
“We are continuing to monitor events,” officials said in a statement. “Our security team has been working closely with the Port of Los Angeles. Both are on a heightened state of awareness, but there are no credible threats for either. “
Michael Gold, spokesman for the Port of Long Beach, said that both ports have been coordinating their security efforts for large-scale events.
For example in September, the Port of Los Angeles is expecting as many as 200,000 to 300,000 visitors to the Harbor Area over the Labor Day weekend for Fleet Week.