Photo: WBZ News Radio
BOSTON (State House News Service) — Massachusetts is "always at a high level of alert and awareness," Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday when asked if the Bay State had changed its posture at all in the wake of a deadly truck attack in New Orleans.
"What happened in New Orleans is horrific. It's a terrible, terrible thing, and my heart goes out to the victims and survivors of that," Healey told reporters after taking part in a joint session of the Legislature on Thursday. "And know that we're going to continue to make every effort here in the state to make sure that our state and our communities are as safe as possible."
A Texas man apparently influenced by the Islamic State group drove a pickup truck down Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning as it was packed with New Year's Day revelers, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more before he was killed in a firefight with police, according to the Associated Press. Later Wednesday, a truck loaded with explosives blew up outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas in what authorities have said was an unrelated incident.
Asked by a reporter Thursday whether Massachusetts was at a different level of alertness than usual, the governor suggested that the attacks had not altered Massachusetts' security plans.
"I think we're always at a high level of alert and awareness in Massachusetts and around the country. I mean, that's the nature of the times that we're in, and it's why the continued work that we do between and among state, local and federal law enforcement is so important," Healey said.
Healey did not answer a question about bollards, which are often installed around places of high pedestrian traffic to prevent cars from accessing them intentionally or inadvertently, and said she would have to talk about the issue with Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy.
Written by Colin A. Young/SHNS