The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department released a statement Wednesday saying it’s maintaining elevated readiness after the FBI told California police agencies Iran could retaliate against the U.S. for its recent strikes on Iran by attacking the West Coast with drones.
A news release from Sheriff Robert Luna said the department is working closely with other law enforcement agencies to assess any potential impact from the war in the Middle East on communities in Los Angeles County.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and in recognition of current religious observances, the department has continued increased patrols around places of worship, cultural institutions, and other prominent locations throughout the county,” Luna said in the release. “We have proactively reviewed our deployment plans, enhanced coordination with our patrol stations, and ensured that additional resources are available should they be needed.”
Deputy Sterling Buck with the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said that those places of worship aren’t meant to be specific to any particular religion: cultural institutions and religious sites of all kinds are more at risk of attack.
Each station throughout the county is responsible for a list of institutions that receive increased patrols during levels of heightened law enforcement readiness, he said.
“We received multiple inquiries about the Sheriff’s Department’s response,” Buck said. “With this statement, we’re not singling out any religious institution; we’re going to increase patrol to all.”
He added that the LASD has no additional information on the FBI’s alert from any other agencies to share.
“It was more, ‘We are aware and we are acting on it’ … (and) increasing our awareness, and we’re going to let the public know if anything does occur,” Buck said.
The FBI’s field office in Los Angeles County has declined to comment on the alert, and at this point there’s little information about where the intelligence was first received by the FBI or where a strike could occur.
