New York Governor Cuomo Updates Public Concerning Weekend's Violence, Injuries and Damages
More police and security personnel on the ground than probably has ever existed in the State of New York
By Staff Reporter
September 19, 2016
New York - - - Today, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo fielded reporters' questions concerning the ongoing investigation surrounding the explosion in Chelsea and bombs found in New Jersey over the weekend.
Asked about the latest information he has on what investigators believe and are telling him, Governor Cuomo said:
"Well, that is going to be the next question, if you will. Was Rahami acting alone? Was he a quote/unquote, lone wolf? Did he have accomplices? If he had accomplices, did they have foreign connections? On the videotapes, Peter, you see a number of individuals, apparently participating in the actions, so there is a very legitimate question, whether or not he had accomplices. But that is, in some ways, the investigation going forward, that was post-apprehension. We’ve had an extraordinary couple of days here, as you know, and we're just very pleased that in such a short period of time, this man was apprehended, so we said that justice would be swift, but it was so swift that it even surprised us."
Responding to a question concerning whether or not the people of New York, New Jersey and the Tri-State area can feel comfortable that there are (right now) no additional threats from the party that caused the damages and injuries, the Governor said:
"We have no reason to believe there is any threat from Rahami or that there is any Rahami cell, but Peter, that's a global statement. You know, my attitude as Governor of New York is, in a post-9/11 world, you're the State of New York, you're probably one of the largest targets for terrorists in the world. You have to be on your toes. The new normal is be vigilant and be ready and that's what we are. That's how we live our life here, not just New York, but you have medium-sized cities, all across the country, so this threat, we believe has been resolved. But tomorrow's another day."
In summing up what happened, Mr. Cuomo said:
"There was a bomb that was detonated and 29 people were injured. Another bomb did not go off. Bombs in New Jersey, some did, some didn't."
Referring to actions taken after the bombing and the current state of security, Governor Cuomo said that now they have:
"More police and security personnel on the ground than probably has ever existed in the State of New York. The NYPD has increased. The Federal Department of Homeland Security has increased. I've sent another 1,000 National Guard and New York State Police down, so we will probably have the largest number you've ever had, but on this entire topic, my point of view is this. In a post-9/11 world, with the frequency always increasing, this is a reality we're going to have to deal with. I am right now redesigning Penn Station, Farley, LaGuardia airport, JFK airport, our main terminals and they will have a level of security that we've never seen before. That is the world we now live in."
Information source: State of New York, Office of the Governor
(The Governor made his remarks in an interview with MSNBC)