N.J. Homeland Security chief unfazed by report of threat

New Jersey is stepping up security measures for the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The state’s Homeland Security Director Charlie McKenna said Friday that officials were taking action even before the report of a credible terror threat in New York and Washington.

“We’ve known for months that the ramp-up to this weekend was going to be a week of high tension,” he said. “We have been planning for this week and we have been ramping up police activities and a lot of our investigative work and our security work to make sure that we’re safe.”

McKenna advised residents to go ahead with their usual plans, but reminded them to be aware of what’s going on around them–and report any suspicious activities to the police.

He said the report of a credible threat does not come as a big surprise.

“These things often bubble up just before events like this. We are just continuing to do that which we had already planned to do, which is raising the security a lot,” he said. “Now perhaps we’re focusing in certain areas a little more.”