The deadly violence on New Year's Day in New Orleans has dredged up memories of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings in Boston.
Fourteen people were killed when a car plowed through a New Year’s crowd in New Orleans. Authorities say the driver was inspired by foreign terrorists. The marathon bombers, who killed three people and injured dozens of others, were described similarly.
Former Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, now the director of security at Boston College, says making large gatherings 100% secure isn’t realistic.
"It's sad. I know there's a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking on the police here, but it's hard. Public events are tough to police," Evans said.
On the 10th anniversary of the bombings, Boston's emergency responders testified before Congress on the importance of cooperation between law enforcement — one of the lessons that’s become standard operating procedure.
"We’ve had to put a lot more preventative measures. I was police commissioner the next year after the bombings and we have the snow plows and the DPW trucks at every intersection. We had bags [checked] of everyone going near the finish," Evans said.
People in Boston were also reminded of the marathon bombings. But more than 11 years later, memories and safety concerns have faded for some.
"It's the same correlation, like a crowd of people, multiple deaths, very sad," one man said.
"It's not at the forefront of my mind," said one woman. "Maybe it should be more. Maybe I'm naïve. But I think, especially post-COVID, I'm just happy to be in a public space with people."
Evans says the marathon and 911 helped law enforcement develop a whole new mentality when it comes to public gatherings.
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. 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.
