The Halloween parade in New York threatened by terrorist attack

Revelers pause for a picture as they march during the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

New York’s halloween spectacle paraded through Manhattan on Tuesday, just hours after the deadly terrorist attack in the city.

 

Security was heavy when the Greenwich Village Parade began on Tuesday around 1.6 kilometres from the place where a man, only hours earlier, mowed down pedestrians and cyclists in a truck. But the spectacle took place,followed by thousands of spectators.

‘It will not scare us. You can’t let it stop you from living your life,’ said Cathryn Strobl, 23, from New York, while she waited in her Buffy the Vampire Slayer costume.

The police were in place with increased powers, including heavily armed officers, and vehicles set up as protection along the route. Each time one of the USA’s virtually monthly large scale terrorist attacks, or shooting sprees, take place, police powers increase a little more, or they gain a greater amount of paramilitary equipment in their arsenals.

The parade, open to all in costume, began in 1973, and later developed into a television-broadcast festive firework spectacle.

Ghosts, trolls, zombies, super heroes, men on stilts, bumblebees, and a fleet of topless participants were among those who marched up 6th Avenue while spectators heard the beat of drums, and Caribbean music.

Nevertheless, attendance was less than usual said Tamia Gholston, who was one of the participants in the parade.

‘Maybe because of the terrorist attack,’ said the New York citizen, who dressed as Batgirl for the occasion.

 

©  NTB Scanpix / Norway Today