NYPD on high alert as Maine shootings suspect remains at large, demonstrations over Israel-Hamas war continue across city
NEW YORK -- The NYPD is stepping up patrols out of an abundance of caution as the manhunt for the Maine shootings suspect continues, all while officers are still monitoring demonstrations related to the Israel-Hamas war.
Police sources tell CBS New York they believe Maine shootings suspect Robert Card has some connection to New York City, and they've deployed patrol units to be on the lookout.
The NYPD has been on high alert with uniformed officers manning high sensitivity areas after Card allegedly killed 18 people and injured many more.
"Right now, we have a level four activation going on in New York City. That's over 900 cops mobilized. We split the city into two parts, and those police officers will be deployed to high sensitive locations throughout the day," NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said.
Watch: Security expert discusses ongoing manhunt for Maine shootings suspect
Law enforcement officials say police are also manning bridges and tunnels. They believe the suspect's break-up with a girlfriend may have been a trigger, but say he has also been threatening to kill people for months.
Card was assigned to support training in New York over the summer at West Point, where superiors became concerned. A U.S. official said he started acting erratically shortly after arriving there.
"He's so aggressive. He's so well-trained. It's actually a police officer's worst nightmare," security expert Felipe Rodriguez said.
Police are also near schools like Cooper Union, where a demonstration to stop antisemitism led to a tense stand off between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters Wednesday.
"There will be a uniformed presence outside that school, because again, these kids are all students who go to school, and some share the same classes," Chell said. "We've had roughly 110 protests over the last 19 days, encompassing roughly 70,000 ralliers, protesters. We've effected 233 arrests. Well, no, 225 of those arrests, approximately, were summonses for being in the street or acts of disobedience."
Police are urging people to go about their business as usual, as everything they're doing is cautionary. At the same time, make sure to remain alert.