Citing “sufficient resources,” the Los Angeles Police Department has decided to conduct increased patrolling around Sunday’s 16th Annual Thai New Songkran Festival in East Hollywood after Saturday night’s vehicle attack on a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver.
Asked if the increased patrolling was in response to the violence up north, Officer Rosario Cervantes of the LAPD told City News Service: “We are aware of Vancouver.”
At least 11 people were killed when a man drove a car into a crowd at the Canadian city’s annual Lapu Lapu festival. The 30-year-old suspect was in custody, and the Vancouver Police Department said authorities were “confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism.”
The Thai festival was being held all day on Hollywood Boulevard, from Western Avenue to Normandie Avenue. A parade began at 8 a.m., and the festival concludes at 10 p.m.
Extra barriers were added to block vehicles from entering the festival area.
The Thai festival includes live music, Muay Thai boxing demonstrations, religious ceremonies, Thai food and the Miss Songkran USA Beauty Pageant. It also offers a health fair that includes free or low-cost basic health checks, blood pressure measurements as well as blood sugar and cholesterol testing.
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