The NYPD will be on high alert at next week’s Greenwich Village Halloween Parade — where costumes can provide cover for extremists looking for “targets of opportunity” as the Israel-Hamas war rages, a cop memo says.
But the gathering – known to draw about 60,000 people decked out in their spookiest and wildest get-ups – could be an easy target for “malicious actors” looking to do harm, the department said.
“The large numbers of costumed participants and spectators present a unique challenge for law enforcement authorities providing crowd security, as bulky clothing, masks and props could aid in the concealment of weapons and identities,” the memo says.
As an example of violent extremists striking on Halloween, the memo pointed to the Oct. 31, 2017, attack in which ISIS fanatic Sayfullo Saipov allegedly plowed a van over a crowded bike path along the West Side Highway, killing eight people and injuring at least 11 others, including three children.