Editorial: COWARDS

Our hearts go out to the city of Boston, to the three killed, the more than 100 injured – and the thousands whose lives and sense of safety and peace of mind were shattered by an act of cowardice.

Aside from the death and devastation, the bombing opened up fresh wounds for those families whose hearts were already broken.

This year, the Boston Marathon paid tribute to the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook massacre, complete with a 26-second moment of silence, a team of runners and attendees.

The blasts added yet another layer of heartbreak to their lives.

We ask – is no place safe?

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in his address the day after the carnage, said that the city has “fully mobilized our resources to protect New Yorkers from any related threats that might emerge.

“Our camera network now has the capacity to alert police to abnormalities it detects on the street, such as an abandoned package that is left on a corner,” Bloomberg continued. “The NYPD has license plate readers, as well as chemical, biological, and radiological sensors to allow the NYPD to better detect and investigate threats.”

The police, he said, stepped up security at strategic locations and critical infrastructure, including subways, as soon as there was news of the attacks.

Additionally, the NYPD is working with its law enforcement partners, especially the FBI, and has increased emergency service officers on patrol, as well as bomb squad resources.

In this post-9/11 world, we have been taught that if we “see something, say something.”

We are vigilant on our way to work, watch for suspicious activity and report packages left behind.

WE MUST CONTINUE TO DO SO.

It is not only the job of our law enforcement officials to keep us safe – it is our own.

We cannot let the handiwork of cowards deter us. We cannot let them win.

As Bloomberg said, “For more than 230 years, Americans have fought and died to defend the freedoms that shaped the Declaration of Independence. No foreign power, no domestic faction, and no terrorist group has ever stopped the march of freedom in this country. And none ever will.”