A solitary individual acting alone is identified as the primary terror threat to the July 4th festivities in New York and San Francisco, as indicated by an intelligence bulletin acquired by ABC News. Although similar alerts have been issued in previous years, the current warning is especially pressing in light of recent domestic attacks and international tensions.
With 200,000 attendees anticipated at the San Francisco waterfront for this year’s Independence Day fireworks, the event presents a wide array of vulnerable targets “for a mass casualty attack,” as detailed in the “Joint Special Event Threat Assessment” issued by the FBI, Homeland Security, Coast Guard San Francisco, and Northern California Regional Intelligence Center.
Authorities express concern over the potential for imitative attacks following the vehicle assault on Bourbon Street in New Orleans during this past New Year’s Day. In that incident, the perpetrator struck pedestrians with a truck before exiting the vehicle and opening fire. The attack resulted in the deaths of fourteen individuals, including the suspect, and left 57 others injured.
“It sets forth the types of things that intelligence agencies should be looking for,” retired FBI agent Max Noel told the ABC7 I-Team. Knoel is best known for arresting the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski in 1996. He said the public should take this new bulletin seriously: “I think it’s significant because it shows to me the willingness of the federal oversight agencies in communicating with their local law enforcement partners much better than we had done in the past.”
The threat assessment also raises concerns about:
- Ferry system, calling it “a soft target that may be exploited” by terrorists, especially boats that pass beneath the Bay Bridge and Richmond San Rafael Bridge
Lone offenders motivated by world events, such as the man who threw Molotov Cocktails at a small crowd in Boulder, Colorado June 1. They were walking in support of Israeli captives held by Hamas.
Dan Noyes: “Should people change their plans based on this?”
Rich Corriea: “No.”
Rich Correia is a retired commander of the San Francisco police, and he told us, “I think we’re in a more dangerous time. Time to be vigilant. Is it a time where we don’t live our lives the way we would like to? No, I don’t think so. Most folks are not bent on harming anybody. It’s the few, not the many.”
Important to note – investigators say they have no specific threat against the 4th of July event in San Francisco. But, we live in a day and age where you have to decide if you want to attend mass gatherings, knowing the crowd could be a target.
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