I-Team: FBI Boston 'Hyper Vigilant' After Recent Terror Attacks
BOSTON (CBS) – The attack at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport is just the latest in a series causing shock waves around the world.
The head of FBI's Boston office says even though the attacks may happen hundreds or thousands of miles away, it affects the way they investigate cases here.
"When you look at the series of attacks that have happened over the last six, seven, eight months, we are hyper vigilant in terms of what's going on," Special Agent in Charge Harold Shaw said in an interview with WBZ-TV's Lauren Leamanczyk.
"Our concern, which remains post any type of incident, is the potential for copycat."
Shaw gets new tips every day about potential terror activity in New England. He won't say how many local people are on the terror watch list. But they are here.
"It's an ongoing challenge that we have as investigators in looking at the potential of bravado versus intent," Shaw says.
Just talking about terrorism isn't necessarily a crime. The Orlando shooter had previously been investigated, but there wasn't enough evidence to charge him.
The Boston FBI recently met with local authorities to discuss cases that need more surveillance ahead of busy summer events like the Fourth of July.
"The last thing we want to be confronted with is sitting on a piece of information that wasn't acted on with the appropriate aggressiveness that resulted in some type of incident," Shaw said.
Shaw says the recent attacks may have inspired other would be terrorists - but they have also had the impact of increasing the number of tips from the public. He says that's important because in most cases after an attack they realize there are citizens who could have provided key information to stop it.