There might be an elevated police presence at Sunday’s Lunar New 12 months Parade in Chinatown, Chicago police introduced Monday, after a mass taking pictures left 11 folks useless in a Los Angeles-area ballroom Saturday amid a weekend of latest 12 months’s celebrations.

“Whereas there is no such thing as a actionable intelligence in Chicago, we’re strengthening safety for Lunar New 12 months celebrations within the upcoming days by growing our visibility and presence at these occasions,” Chicago police mentioned in an announcement.

Parade organizers mentioned security is at all times on the highest of their record. Gene Lee, founding father of Chicago Chinatown Particular Occasions Committee and organizer of the occasion, mentioned police instructed him they’d be on excessive alert Sunday, however he mentioned “sadly, that doesn’t appear to be the positions of the US as of recently.”

[ ‘There’s pain in the community’: Data shows increase in anti-Asian hate crimes nationwide, but some worry Chicago’s low numbers stem from lack of reporting ]

Lee additionally mentioned the organizers have employed further safety.

“I wouldn’t say we’re pins and needles, however we’re all very a lot conscious and alert,” Lee mentioned.

Sunday’s parade marks the primary time the Lunar New 12 months Parade has been held for the reason that COVID-19 pandemic hit Chicago. It begins at 1 p.m. and can take off from twenty fourth Avenue and Wentworth Avenue and journey north on Wentworth towards the viewing stand on Cermak Avenue and Wentworth.

Tommy Wong, heart, of the Hui-Ting Affiliation, helps Kenmond Xavier Eng, 5, left, and Aryanna Eng, 6, current a present to the lions alongside South Wentworth Avenue in Chinatown on Feb. 21, 2021, to have a good time the Lunar New 12 months. The 12 months of the Ox was inaugurated with lion dances all through the neighborhood as an alternative of the normal parade as a result of pandemic. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Ald. Sigcho-Lopez, twenty fifth, mentioned he talked with neighborhood leaders over the weekend about their security issues. He mentioned neighborhood members had been in a position to collaborate on a security plan with their aldermen and police precinct.

“We really feel assured with our security plan, and to maneuver ahead with this joyful occasion in a secure setting. We invite the entire metropolis to come back out,” mentioned Sigcho-Lopez.

Ald. Nicole Lee, eleventh, mentioned in a written assertion, “The protection of our neighborhood is my prime precedence and it’s my job as alderman to make sure we’re utilizing out there assets, and demanding extra when wanted, to maintain our neighborhood secure on a regular basis. We should take pleasure in this celebration of our tradition and neighborhood, and we’ll achieve this with delight, simply as we’ve got for generations.”

Lunar New 12 months celebrations kicked off in Chicago over the weekend, however celebrators mentioned they refused to dwell in concern after a gunman killed 11 and injured 9 others in Monterey Park, California, on Saturday evening. Police haven’t launched a motive. The suspected shooter was discovered useless by police in a white van in close by Torrance a day later.

Anti-Asian hate crimes have gone up fivefold within the final three years, in response to Chicago police knowledge.

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