New York City is apparently a target for terrorists because of the failed bombing incident in the subway of the city. The man who made the attempt has been identified and was injured in the blast of the homemade pipe bomb. Sky News reports that, in light of the incident, the security mechanism will be beefed up for the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square. This has been conveyed by the counterterrorism chief of NYC.
President Donald Trump feels that this incident is proof that the United States' immigration system must be modified to prevent entry of people who have not been vetted properly.
In his opinion, the existing system is lax and others are taking advantage of this.
About the suspect
The 27-year-old suspect in the New York City subway bombing has been charged with terrorism, providing material support to terrorists, and using weapons of mass destruction. He falls under the category of homegrown terrorist and is a lone wolf operator with no apparent link to any organizations. It seems he has admitted to the police that he did it for the Islamic State.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the suspect is a man from Bangladesh, and he was influenced by IS material that he came across online in 2014. According to the prosecutors, he undertook the attack because he did not agree with the policies of the United States in the Middle East.
This is evident from one of his posts, critical of Donald Trump, on social media.
Revamping security
There have been a number of terrorist attacks in the past in various countries, and it is difficult to predict when and where they will strike or the method they will adopt. It has been observed that they usually select crowded venues to ensure large-scale casualties.
Obviously, the counterterrorism squad of New York City will have to come up with strategies to foil such designs.
It may be recalled that the United States has witnessed several terror attacks. In 2013, it was a pressure cooker bomb during the Boston marathon which killed three persons and injured hundreds. October 2017 saw an attack in Las Vegas where a gunman shot into crowds of country music lovers, killing 58 of them and leaving more than 500 injured.
Later that month, there was the vehicle attack in Manhattan that left eight dead.
For the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square, the police are expected to concentrate on mass transit systems and public gatherings. There will be heavily armed officers, specially trained to spot trouble, who will be assisted by canine squads to sniff out explosives. In addition, there will be bag screenings and checkpoints to ensure safety.
