What will Pearl Street security look like moving forward? Boulder police chief says "all hands on deck" for upcoming Jewish Festival

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a day ago

Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn had Pearl Street security on high alert Wednesday as local religious leaders and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis held a vigil recognizing Sunday's Molotov cocktail attack.
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"We had snipers, we have a drone, drone team, we have SWAT guys. We have just a lot of uniform presence," Redfearn said.
To address safety concerns from the community moving forward, Your Boulder County Reporter Sarah Horbacewicz asked how the chief plans to prevent future mass violence events in the city.
"We've learned, and what I've learned, is you can never guarantee, with all the safety and security and all the cops in the world, we can't ever guarantee that something's going to be 100% safe," he said, and added: "Our goal when that happens ... is to minimize that impact. The guy had 16 other devices that he didn't throw."
This attack also comes just four years after a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store in the city. And while very different events, the Boulder community is looking for ways to continue to heal from the trauma.
Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn
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"It is abnormal to have two mass violence incidents in a short period of time, very different in this case, but it's a lot for the community. It's a lot for our officers," he said.
Wednesday's vigil continued as planned safely. Police are also already planning for extra security this coming Sunday when the Run For Our Lives group that was targeted will walk again during a long-planned Jewish festival.
"I am certain Sunday will be a success, and that everybody can kind of hopefully, as each day goes by ... breathe a little bit easier, knowing that, you know, sadly, we know there'll be another attack somewhere else, and we just hope it's not here," said Redfearn.
This also comes as Boulder police says they've seen an increase in antisemitic behavior. Redfearn says police had previously been in touch with Run For Our Lives but say they had no information of a threat on Sunday.
"We knew (the walkers) were here. And so when that 911 call came in, and it's one of the reasons our officers were so quick in getting here, we knew that they're down here every Sunday, and there was a high likelihood they were targeted," he said.
Law enforcement officers can be seen on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on Wednesday.
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The heightened police presence will continue to go beyond Pearl Street and extend to places of worship for both the Jewish and Muslim community in the city as well as at another vigil in the coming weeks.
"No one should be harming any member of our community," Redfearn adding, "I think we find ourselves questioning, like, when is enough, enough, and hope to God we never get that call again."