Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that there are no credible threats of more attacks to come in the United States at this point in the wake of the grisly terrorist attack in Orlando over the weekend and a separate attack in France.
“Not at this stage,” Mr. Johnson said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “The president’s number one priority, as is mine, is the protection of the homeland, protection of the American people.”
“As you know, we’re doing a number of things to do that, both militarily through aggressive law enforcement and homeland security, and we’re going to continue and we’re going to keep at this in this environment of homegrown violent extremism, and that’s what Orlando is looking more and more like,” he said.
He said they would encourage the public to be “vigilant” and “aware.”
Mr. Johnson also said there are no new signs at this point that Orlando gunman Omar Mateen, 29, who reportedly pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State during a 911 call, might have been directed by the terrorist group or had any help.
“There’s no indication at this point that it was terrorist-directed, as we say in Washington,” he said. “This appears to be yet another tragic terrorist-inspired attack, and it reflects the environment we’re in right now.”
Mateen opened fire at an Orlando nightclub early Sunday morning, killing 49 people and wounding more than 50 others.
Mr. Johnson also said they know of no accomplices at this point, but that the investigation continues.
“We’re in an environment now of self-radicalization,” he said. “It is almost always the case that when someone self-radicalizes, someone close to them sees the sign, which is why we continue to encourage public awareness, public vigilance.”
Mr. Johnson acknowledged Mateen was under investigation in 2013, but he said the FBI had nothing further to continue the investigation.
French President Francois Hollande had said on Tuesday that his country was facing a significant threat in the wake of the stabbing deaths of two police officials in what he called a terrorist act, according to The Associated Press.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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