U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson joined NJTV News’ Mary Alice Williams to have an in-depth conversation about the state of security in the U.S. today. Find the rest of the series here.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson told NJTV News Anchor Mary Alice Williams that he’s concerned about the possibility of a lone wolf terrorist act.
“The lone wolf is the lone actor who turns to violence for a variety of different reasons, variety of different stated reasons,” said Johnson. “Is a threat I worry about a lot because we don’t always have notice. We oftentimes have no notice.”
Johnson said that he recently visited the 84th Police Precinct in Brooklyn following the assassination of two police officers. He said that he spoke to the officers in the precinct and told them the assassination of the officers had to be their worst nightmare, partly because it was so sudden.
According to Johnson, the lone wolf is drawn to violence through what he or she sees or reads on social media or the internet. He said that some may not have a criminal record, while others might.
He also said that lone wolf actors can have access to guns and often have access to other materials that can be used for terror attacks that can be obtained through lawful means, such as kitchen appliances.
The Department of Homeland Security is talking to retailers that sell items that have the capability of being used as explosive devices, said Johnson.
Johnson said that one of the ways to address any possibilities of a lone wolf attack is by talking to retailers and asking them be on guard for any suspicious behavior. He said that retailers need to watch for anyone buying large quantities or someone who pays in cash or anyone engaging in any kind of suspicious behavior.
He also said the public has a responsibility. Johnson said the since 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security has gotten better at detecting plots against the homeland from overseas through the various intelligence collection capabilities.
“The lone wolf actor living in our midst in our society who could strike at any second is the one I worry more about, frankly, because there, it’s very often the cop on the beat, the first responder who’s gonna have to address this,” Johnson said.
According to Johnson, the Department of Homeland Security’s grant making activity and activities within the department — such as training — will help assist first responders in any incident.
“So through our grant making activity and through our activities within the department we help train for mass shooter incidents,” Johnson said. “We help fund equipment for first responders. If you look at scenes from the first response to the Boston Marathon bombing, for example, a lot of the equipment that you see — the vest, the vehicles, the emergency response vehicles — were funded by the Department of Homeland Security. And so we’ve got to keep doing that, but talking to community organizations is, in my judgement, equally as important.”