BETHESDA, Md. – The explosion that wounded roughly a couple dozen people in New York has officials in the D.C. region keeping a close eye on all that is happening.
“When you hear about those things, your immediate thought is ‘What if it happened here?’” Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger rhetorically asked. “Would we be prepared? How would we respond?”
After running through those scenarios, Manger said the next thing that immediately comes to mind is how you could help those affected.
Manger, who was speaking about policing in the county during a forum at St. John’s Norwood Church in Bethesda, said the D.C. region is very well prepared for anything that should affect the area.
“Certainly, in the Washington, D.C., area, we have a great relationship around the Beltway with law enforcement agencies providing help to each other when things like this happen,” the police chief said.
Manger said the D.C. area has been having conversations about safety and security since the Sept. 11 terror attacks back in 2001.
“9/11 was a wake-up call for this country and for law enforcement,” Manger said.
D.C. and New York are filled with potential terror targets — even more so in the capital region, where many of those potential threats are outside the District border in suburban locales such as Montgomery County.
“I think there is probably no place that is better prepared than the Washington, D.C. area,” Manger said. “New York is certainly right there, as well.”
