BOSTON (WHDH) - The city of Boston will be increasing security at concerts and sporting events, including playoff games at Fenway Park, after police said the Las Vegas gunman researched venues in the area.
Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said the FBI told him Wednesday night that Stephen Paddock researched locations in Boston online, specifically hotels near Fenway Park and the Boston Center for the Arts. While Paddock searched for hotels near Fenway, no one with his name ever booked a room and Evans said he never traveled to the Boston area.
Evans said police will be stepping up their efforts, especially because there are a lot of events in the city coming up soon. He said next week, police will be meeting with hotel officials on ways to increase security.
“We had a concert on City Hall Plaza, we have the Red Sox coming to town Sunday, we’re gonna step up,” Evans said. “We’ve got road races, we’ve got Bruno Mars, we’ve got a lot in the city, we’re gonna step up our efforts in and around them.”
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The Red Sox announced Friday that fans attending Sunday’s playoff game should plan on arriving early due to increased security measures. Boston Police Department tactical teams will be stationed inside the ballpark and the surrounding perimeter, and additional police detail officers will be on site, including undercover plain clothes officers monitoring the crowds.
The team says s comprehensive sweep of the ballpark will be completed by Explosive Ordinance Detection teams that will remain on site during the game.
Despite the added security, Gov. Charlie Baker (R-Mass.) said people should not panic because there is no immediate threat in Boston.
“We’ve been in constant contact with the fusion center and they’ve been in constant contact with Las Vegas,” Baker said. “We believe we’re fully plugged in on that investigation and there’s no imminent threat in Massachusetts or New England.”
State Sen. Michael Moore (D-Shrewsbury), the Public Safety and Homeland Security chair, said metal detectors, explosive-sniffing dogs and undercover police officers will be used. He said more information gathering also needs to be done before attacks happen.
“If you’re looking at the guns he purchased, if there had been some tracking of that, they could have shared that information with local police that he bought 33 guns in the last year, that might be of some concern,” said Moore.
Former New York and Boston Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who spoke at Curry College Thursday night, said some cities will need to employ new tactics to keep their citizens safe. Bratton suggested more sniper teams.
“A lot of departments around the country have not had that type of focus. Coming out of this, I think they’re going to have to add that to their reportoire of things they have to plan for,” Bratton said.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said anyone at these events in the city should be vigilant and alert police if they see anything suspicious.
The FBI said they will be working with Boston Police and Massachusetts State Police to investigate “any and all potential leads” connected to Las Vegas.
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