LA authorities on high alert after NYC subway shooting

Los Angeles, April 13

Authorities in Los Angeles (LA) are on high alert in the wake of a New York City subway shooting that has left 20 people injured.

While noting there had been no credible threats to the Metro system which was operating normal service, the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) said in a statement that it is "on heightened alert and is working with its security partners at the local, state and national levels to monitor threat levels and share information."

As a precaution, LA Metro said it would deploy additional security personnel at transit stations in LA County and urged transit riders to report suspicious activities, Xinhua news agency reported.

The LA County Sheriff's Department (LASD) said in a statement that its Transit Services Bureau was on heightened alert due to the NYC transit attack which happened on Tuesday and were deploying resources to keep everyone safe.

"Our Explosives Detection K9 teams, Special Assignment Unit, Team Leader Deputies, and Commuter Enhancement Teams are deployed throughout our areas of responsibility. Our field patrol units have been briefed on the situation in New York and are on high visibility patrol throughout the Metro System," said the police agency.

Taking to Twitter, LA Police Department (LAPD) also said that it was closely monitoring reports of the multiple-victim shooting on Tuesday morning at a subway train station in NYC's Brooklyn, noting that the department was in contact with its local, state and federal partners and providing high visibility patrols throughout the city, including bus and rail stations.

LA is the second-largest metropolitan region in the US after New York.