DENVER—Colorado residents and tourists said Tuesday they were determined to live their lives without fear despite U.S. security warnings prompted by a terror probe in Denver and New York City.
U.S. officials issued bulletins to police nationwide about possible terrorist plans to attack mass transit systems, stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels.
The officials said they knew of no specific plots but urged police to be vigilant.
Security warnings are nothing new for 45-year-old Julie May.
“I live in London, and terrorist bulletins are a way of life for me,” said May, who arrived in Denver Sunday for a vacation in Colorado, Utah and Arizona. “It’s happening in our country, too. So it’s obviously of concern, but it’s not something I’m particularly worried about.”
May arrived just hours after FBI agents arrested Aurora resident Najibullah Zazi on charges of lying to the government in a matter involving terrorism. An arrest warrant affidavit alleges Zazi, a permanent U.S. resident, admitted to having ties to al-Qaida. Zazi has repeatedly denied it to reporters.
The Colorado Intelligence Analysis Center, which gathers information from police and issues warnings to transit agencies and other potential targets, has not put out a specific warning, Department of Public Safety spokesman Lance Clem said.
The center’s last warning came after the 2005 London subway bombings.
Gov. Bill Ritter again insisted there was no imminent threat. He noted that the federal government had not increased its homeland security threat level from yellow, defined as a significant threat of terrorist attack.
Many sports fans are taking the warnings in stride.
Denver Broncos fan Frank Zamora, 65, of Colorado Springs plans to be at Invesco Field at Mile High with his son for a Monday night football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 9.
“I think the government, so far, has been staying on top of it” because of security measures implemented during the George W. Bush administration, Zamora said as he bought game tickets.
“Nothing has happened, but I think something is more likely to happen because of what I view as a more lax policy or attitude that the new administration has,” he said.
The Colorado Rockies baseball team was beginning a nine-game homestand Tuesday night, and team spokesman Jay Alves said security measures remained standard.
Nichole Duncan, 33, of Thornton said she has taken a large diaper bag to Coors Field for a Rockies game in the past—an experience that suggests security could be better.
“I sometimes feel like when they go through my bag, they don’t necessarily go through it thoroughly,” she said while picking up tickets at the ballpark.
“I think it would be fairly easy for someone to take something in if they really wanted to.”
Duncan still planned to take her family to a game Wednesday.
“I don’t think people can live their lives in fear like that, so I think we still have to go on living and enjoying life,” she said.
