New ISIS Video Appears To Threaten Las Vegas
Author: Christianne Klein
LAS VEGAS - Any threat from ISIS is taken seriously. Monday, a new video from ISIS, that many people say seems like it's targeting Las Vegas started circling the web.
So how credible is the threat?
8 News NOW reached out to Metro Police for answers. However, Metro said it didn't believe this was a credible threat, rather an attempt to inspire and motivate some form of action.
The new ISIS video calls for specific attacks against U.S. cities similar to the attack that happened at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Las Vegas isn't mentioned by name in the video, but images of the Strip are shown.
The website PJMedia.com published a photo from the video that appears to be a pedestrian walkway connected to the Bellagio above the Strip. The video also shows footage of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. 8 News NOW reached out to PJ Media to see if anyone could speak to us about the video, but we have yet to hear back from the website.
Experts say the intention is clear, but Security Expert David Shepherd with the Readiness Resource Group says Nevada residents shouldn't panic.
"Part of what they're doing is to install some sort of fear in people," Shepard said. "It doesn't mean something's going to happen. It doesn't mean there's any credibility to it. All they have to do is create that one little bit of fear."
Shepherd says the City of Las Vegas has faced the threat of attacks before, so instead of having fear, residents should use this opportunity to learn the tools to help prevent an attack.
"The one that picks the cities are them, and we have to remain vigilant at all times under all cities; not just here," Sheperd said. "It's not just a big city war; it's not just the eastern United States. It affects the entire country."
According to Sheperd, one of the most powerful tools for prevention is an alert citizenry. Especially since ISIS relies heavily on the Internet to get its message out. Sheperd says this allows affords plenty of opportunities for alert citizens to report strange behavior they may read on social media or other websites.
"If you see something, hear something, read something -- report it," Sheperd said.
"It's not just as I said, security's responsibility or law enforcement's responsibility. It's everybody's responsibility."
Although Metro hasn't deemed ISIS' latest video as a threat, the agency says it and its partners will remain vigilant with increased patrols in high-profile areas such as the Strip, local malls, and clubs over the holiday weekend.
UNLV's Institute for Security Studies also released a preventative video for the public on how to spot the "7 Signs of Terrorism" four years ago. Watch it here.
