On the heels of last week’s deadly truck attack, New York city officials are ramping up securing for Sunday’s marathon, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of of competitors and spectators.
New York police have deployed extra “blocking trucks” to protect against vehicle attacks, rooftop snipers, heavy weapons, dogs and helicopters.
New York Police Department officers take part in security screening before the start of the marathon. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
“There will be two or three times as many people deployed. You’ll have thousands of officers on duty this weekend,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday.
In addition, the state Police, National Guard and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will increase deployments at airports, bridges, tunnels, and mass transit systems before and after the race.
“I want to stress, this is just a precautionary measure. We have no information that points to any issues. This is just a precautionary measure, given recent events,” Cuomo said.
More than 50,000 runners will take to the streets with huge crowds of people cheering them on.
The marathon route connects all five of the city’s boroughs, starting near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island, snaking through Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, before circling up to the Bronx and back to Manhattan.
Sunday’s race will not be the first time U.S. runners have had to worry about violence. Two brothers inspired by al-Qaeda killed three people and injured more than 260 with bombs at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon.
