Terrorism cannot be ruled out in a bombing that rocked a New York City neighborhood, injuring more than two dozen people – and surveillance should focus on "communities where these threats are coming from."
In an interview with CBS News' "Face The Nation," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. , who is a member of the House intelligence and homeland security committees, said any international or domestic terrorist link won't be clear for a few days.
"I don't think [we]n accept this as part of the new normal," he said. "Go to the larger issue. That's why the [National Security Agency] is important. That's why surveillance of communities where these threats are coming from is important, why we can't allow over-concern about civil liberties to get in the way of law enforcement."
"I used the example many times: if you're going after the Mafia, you go to the Italian community, Irish communities," he added. "Right now [there is] Islamic terrorism, go to the Muslim communities. You don't look for the Ku Klux Klan in Harlem."
King pointed out "the fact there is no evidence right now" of terrorism "doesn't mean much."
"I think we have to assume that terrorism is always a real possibility and go from there," he said. "Whether it turns out to be or not, we don't know, but I certainly would not think of of ruling out terrorism at this stage."
Later Sunday, King issued a statement calling for a full investigation to determine exactly whether terrorism was a motive.
"This Saturday night's bomb explosion on 23rd Street in Chelsea and the finding of a pressure cooker device on 27th Street demonstrate once again how dangerous our world has become," King said in his statement.
"This morning I visited and examined the bomb site with the NYPD and FBI. Several preliminary observations:
"(1) The FBI and NYPD are conducting a totally thorough investigation.
"(2) The fact that there is no evidence of a specific terror threat means nothing at this time. Several days went by before terrorism was proven with the Boston Marathon, San Bernardino and Orlando attacks.
"(3) There must be a full investigation to determine if there is any connection between the Chelsea explosion and the very similar attack in New Jersey earlier that day.
"(4) If Chelsea is determined to be terrorism, this demonstrates once again the need to have advance intelligence which requires increased surveillance of communities where terror threats come from.
"(5) Walking the crime scene with the FBI and NYPD, I was struck by how powerful the bomb was and how much damage there was up and down 23rd Street. Thank God there were not more casualties with more severe injuries."
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