Security Plan In Place For Boston Outdoor Events In Aftermath Of Las Vegas Shooting
BOSTON (CBS) – The Forbes Under 30 summit at Boston's Government Center has attracted thousands of people during the 4-day event.
Many arrived at the event for the big headliners like rapper Kendrick Lamar, who spoke at City Hall Plaza on Tuesday afternoon.
Big events around the city have taken on a different tone since the Las Vegas shooting, which serves as a reminder of the concerns about security around large gatherings.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh spoke Tuesday about how the city approaches that challenge.
"We'll do our safety protocol that we do, and it's changed," Walsh said. "(The Boston Marathon bombings in) 2013 really changed the way we do security in the city and in the state. So we'll be prepared any way we can but we're asking people if you see something out of the ordinary just call 911. I'd rather be safe than sorry."
Security experts say the job is always evolving.
Every incident like this causes them to look at new options for security measures.
Bruins Chief Executive Officer Charlie Jacobs said that the organization is always evaluating security at TD Garden, and will continue to do so following the Las Vegas shooting.
"We've never taken security lightly. We constantly evaluate and then re-evaluate our security protocols. Both the NBA and the National Hockey League have a set of standards that we abide by and then frankly we go a step further. It really frankly isn't about security within TD Garden. It's more about the periphery, as you saw with the issues in Manchester and how you can handle your marshaling areas for both egress and exits," said Jacobs.
"We continually look at this. It's not something that is ever written in stone, it's a very fluid process from date to date and from concert to concert, but of course, our goal is to make sure our patrons are as safe as possible, and they should feel safe, and we invested a significant amount of time and resources in making sure that door to door, their experience is an entertaining one, and most importantly, a safe one."
In the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, the focus will be looking at outdoor venues in the shadow of high-rises.
But the bottom line, police and homeland security experts say it's important to go ahead with events like the one that took place Tuesday on City Hall Plaza.
"We're in the cradle of liberty here. What's great about America is we assemble and we're free and we can't let anything stop that," said Randall Lane, Forbes editor.
