NYPD Chief: We're in 'Crosshairs'

In a scene eerily reminiscent of the 911 terrorist attacks, New York City police are stepping up security at hotels and other prominent locations following Monday’s terror attack on the Boston Marathon.

“We are in the crosshairs of terrorists and we don’t believe the threat has diminished very much,” declared NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly appearing on the “CBS Evening News.”

“We don’t know the genesis of this; we don’t know who’s responsible for it, but we sort of have to have a 360-degree perimeter in this city,” said Kelly.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said critical response teams have been deployed around the city in case the Boston bombings are a prelude to further attacks in New York.

That was the case on 9/11 when terrorists struck the Pentagon after crashing passenger jets into each of New York’s twin towers.

Kelly warned New Yorkers to remain vigilant.

““New Yorkers should be alert. We ask them to be aware of their surrounding and [if they] see anything suspicious, call our resources, call 911, call 311 if it’s not an immediate emergency,” Kelly told CBS’ Scott Pelley.

Local New York affiliate WCBS reported that the main focus of the increased police presence would be on Manhattan hotels, Times Square, and at synagogues, monuments, city landmarks as well as at all bridges and tunnels.

Meanwhile, New York affiliate WABC reported that more than 1,000 counterterrorism officers had been mobilized along with thousands of others on patrol as police also monitor live feeds from a high tech camera network.

Indeed, news organizations had already spotted a line of patrol cars in Times Square and along Seventh Avenue between 41st and 42d streets.

New York’s counter terrorism unit was also evident in Times Square, while uniformed officers were seen outside the W Hotel, at LaGuardia Airport, Grand Central, and Penn Station, according to news reports.