Halloween parade marches on amid heavy security after attack

Business as usual at the Big Apple even after a rented pickup truck mowed down pedestrians and bicyclists along a busy bike path near the World Trade Center memorial on Tuesday, October 31, 2017, killing at least eight and injuring 11 others. (Photo contributed by Uzi Alvarez from New York)

NEW YORK – New York City’s always-surreal annual Halloween parade marched on Tuesday evening under the shadow of real fear amid heavy security following a truck attack that killed eight people and hurt 11 others.

The Greenwich Village parade stepped off about 1.6 kilometers away from where a truck mowed down pedestrians and cyclists along a busy bike path near the World Trade Center (WTC) memorial four hours earlier.

The raucous spectacle rolled along with its floats, bands, anything-goes sensibility, and thousands of spectators.

“I’m not going to let it scare me,” said 23-year-old New Yorker Cathryn Strobl, as she waited for the parade to start in her Buffy the Vampire Slayer costume. “You can’t let it stop you from living your life.”

Police said they added extra officers, heavy weapons teams, and sand trucks as protective blockers along the parade route. But officials emphasized that New Yorkers should feel safe.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited the route as the parade began, and Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio assured residents and visitors that police were out in force.

“We are going to go about our business in the city, and we are not going to be deterred,” said De Blasio.

Still, he urged New Yorkers to be vigilant: “Tell an officer immediately if you see anything unusual, anything that worries you.”

The parade, which is open to anyone wearing a costume, started in 1973 with a puppeteer marching with his family and grew into a televised extravaganza.

Ghosts, goblins, zombies, superheroes, men on stilts, a bunch of human bumblebees and a float of topless people were among those making their way up Sixth Avenue as spectators bobbed to drumming and Caribbean music.

Still, the crowds seemed thinner than usual to Tamia Gholston. As for why: “the terrorist attack, maybe,” said the New Yorker, who was dressed as Batgirl.

Em Weiss was in town from Seattle on business when her phone started buzzing on Tuesday with worried people trying to reach her after hearing about the attack. Still, she donned a cat-ear headband, drew whiskers on her face and came out to the parade.

“Even though we’re shaking, we’re still strong. … We’re not living in fear,” said Weiss, 28, who said the police presence kept her from feeling too nervous.

“It sends a message (that) terrorism doesn’t win.”

Earlier on Tuesday, a man in a rented pickup truck mowed down pedestrians and bicyclists on a busy bike path near the WTC memorial, killing at least eight and injuring 11 others. The mayor called the attack “a particularly cowardly act of terror.”

READ: ‘Terrorist’ driver kills 8 shouts ‘Allahu Akbar’ in New York

According to officials, the 29-year-old driver was shot in the abdomen by police and taken into custody after jumping out of the truck with what turned out to be a fake gun in each hand and shouting “Allahu Akbar!.”     /kga

Revelers march during the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Heavily armed police guard as people watch during the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

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