New York —
Thousands of spectators are expected to flock to Manhattan and Brooklyn to watch fireworks burst through the air from the East River at the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks show, one of the country’s largest fireworks displays.
Law enforcement in New York is staying vigilant and the New York Police Department’s security response will also be bigger than in previous years, the NYPD’s counterterrorism chief told CNN, because the mix of large crowds at the high-profile event could make the evening a target for an attack.
But conflicts overseas and incidents sparked by domestic extremists, along with a threat assessment from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies warning about lone wolf attacks, have raised the threat level.
Despite this, there are no known or credible threats to New York City, even though there are more potential threats to monitor than in years prior, Rebecca Weiner, deputy commissioner of the NYPD’s intelligence and counterterrorism unit, told CNN in an interview on one of the counterterrorism boats the police department has deployed to the East River.
“We describe this as the ‘everything everywhere all at once’ threat environment,” Weiner said.
Recent high-profile attacks – like the truck driver who rammed his vehicle into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans on New Year’s, as well as several violent, antisemitic attacks linked to tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza – could spur lone wolf, small group or copycat attacks, authorities warn.
The NYPD has been on high alert with extra enforcement at religious institutions since the Israel-Hamas war’s start nearly two years ago. Now, emerging issues abroad such as the Israel-Iran conflict and at home, like the attacks on politicians and ongoing civil unrest over immigration enforcement actions, have all caused ripple effects in New York City.
“These are all individually threats that we’ve contended with for years but what’s new is having them at the same time, requiring us to pivot from one to the other with our resources,” Weiner said.
@cnnCNN goes aboard an NYPD patrol boat tasked with keeping New Yorkers safe during July 4th celebrations.
In late June, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies issued a joint bulletin saying the “the most significant terrorism threat facing the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks stems from lone offenders and small groups of individuals seeking to commit acts of violence.”
As 80,000 firework shells dazzle in the sky, thousands of NYPD officers, including plainclothes officers mixed in with crowds, will patrol the streets and drone and aviation units will surveil the skies.
NYPD’s marine units will be monitoring from the East River, each counterterrorism boat a high-tech vessel equipped with radiation detection and underwater surveillance capabilities designed to relay information and respond to incidents in real time.
The massive police presence is bolstered with advanced technology, intelligence strategies and specialized units that are all designed to snuff out problems before they arise.
The NYPD’s Joint Operations Center, a massive intelligence hub where police can access over 50,000 cameras in the city and keep a watchful eye on possible threats emanating from crowds, will be active with other state and federal law enforcement agencies also sharing information.
Strategic street closures around the viewing areas are all designed to insulate the festivities from incidents like the truck-ramming attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured nearly 60 others, while officers on the ground check bags for weapons.
This response is all part of what makes the massive July 4 deployment second only to New Year’s Eve, according to Weiner.
“Our job is to have a combination of resources that you see, our heavy weapons teams, our explosive trace detection, our canines, our physical deployments, bomb squad, to protect an event like July 4th as well as many resources that you don’t see,” Weiner said. “The intelligence capabilities, monitoring those online and, of course, off-line threats, tips and leads. That isn’t new. There’s just a lot more of it.”
The intelligence component is a significant part of the counterterrorism response, according to Weiner. The intelligence and partnerships with other state and federal agencies is what helps them identify, detect and disrupt bad actors and plots before they hatch, Weiner said.
“This is an incredibly challenging threat environment, and it has been since October 7th and, of course, that didn’t start the terrorism threat environment at all for New York City, or across the country, but that did provide a real inflection point,” Weiner said. “All of us have to be on top of our game because again, we’re not just dealing with Iran. We’re not just dealing with a lone actor inspired by ISIS. We’re not dealing with just civil disobedience and unrest. (It’s) all of them at the same time.”
CNN’s John Miller and Holly Yan contributed to this report.
