Illinois parade shooting casts shadow over Utah holiday festivities

SANDY, Utah — The taking pictures on the Chicago-area Fourth of July parade has parade-attendees throughout the nation feeling anxious. The worry of it taking place right here is one thing that crosses their thoughts.

“These occasions are terrifying and people are the issues, that’s a part of the explanation why we begin this in January,” stated Sgt. Greg Moffitt with the Sandy Police Division.

Moffitt stated Sandy police begin planning Fourth of July safety all the best way again in January and February. 1000’s come to Sandy to look at the parade and fireworks at one of many metropolis’s greatest occasions of the 12 months.

“Popping out to an occasion like this, I feel it does cross your thoughts every so often, however it’s not one thing I dwell on,” stated Ryan Hender.

Moffitt stated each officer of their division works on the Fourth of July.

“Yearly this occurs it’s all fingers on deck,” he stated. “We begin what we now have round us, with all of the totally different buildings and all of the totally different areas. Now we have to think about all of that.”

Moffitt was unable to into the main points of the Sandy police security measures, for safety’s sake, however he does guarantee festival-goers that every part is deliberate out so guests can rejoice worry-free.

“Now we have all of our roads blocked off, we now have our barricades of those roads, and each single intersection is manned by an officer,” he stated.