Laguna Beach to Install Barricades to Protect Pedestrians from Terror Attack
With the recent street attack that had left 13 dead and 100 injured in Barcelona, Spain, Laguna Beach is not going to take on any chances as its plan on protecting the pedestrians from any weaponized vehicles that may be used for a terror attack.
Laguna Beach attracts a wide number of people and after the attack in Barcelona, city officials are making sure that their people are safe, which is why they are planning on setting up barriers to protect pedestrians.
"Sometimes when you get a lot of people on a crowded sidewalk they want to cheat and go into the street and we want to avoid that from happening. So that in addition to any vehicles coming up over the sidewalk to strike a pedestrian is what were trying to prevent," says Laguna Beach Chief of Police Laura Farinella.
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With two demonstrations coming this Saturday (one of which is an anti-immigration rally), it is important to keep in mind the safety of the citizens and people in the city. According to Farinella, there are some areas in the city that are vulnerable to attacks and one of them is a beach on the Pacific Coast Highway. Farinella says that they will be putting up barriers any place where there are no cars because vehicles can naturally serve as a barrier. This would be done in order to prevent cars from jumping the curb and colliding with pedestrians.
Spain was racked with a number of terror events claimed by ISIS, which began when a van plowed into a crowded tourist area and seriously injuring a number of people and leaving 13 dead last Thursday. Now, Spanish authorities are still on the hunt for the driver who has now been identified as 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub after his associates were shot and killed by the Police in Cambrills. Abouyaaqoub lived in the nearby town of Ripoll and is suspected as the mastermind of the terror attack and according officials, he may be planning more.
