Tulsa Police Plan To Step Up Security Efforts At Freedom Fest

Thousands of law enforcement officers will spend the Fourth of July trying to prevent a terror attack, and Tulsa police officers are among them.

“Every time there's a directive or there's some kind of chatter that occurs nationally or worldwide, when it comes to our events, we can't take the idea or the position that, 'hey, it's not going to happen here,’” Sgt. Les Young of Tulsa Police Special Operations said.

The FBI is warning law enforcement officers to be on high alert, saying supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, could be planning attacks.

"I don't think they are capable of a large-scale attack, but certainly an attack that could kill, maim or wound hundreds of people," said Peter King (R-New York).

Young says the Tulsa Police Department is stepping up its efforts at Freedom Fest downtown.

The event is expected to draw a crowd of more than 50,000 people, possibly even as many as 100,000.

"We always try to be overly prepared. If we over prepare and we don't use that preparedness, great," he said.

A command post will be set up with EMSA ambulances standing by, and the Tulsa police bomb squad will be on duty.

"If we have anything that we have to confiscate, hopefully we don't, but they'll be available to put it in the right place and dispose of it properly," Young said.

Police say they have not had any threats involving the holiday weekend in Tulsa but will keep an eye on national events as they unfold over the weekend. 

Counterterrorism experts are reminding people that if they see something unusual to say something.