By Rory Carroll
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – There are no known threats to Sunday’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas but security will be tight, officials told a press conference on Wednesday which played out at the same time someone scaled the Sphere in what police called a “publicity stunt”.
“To be clear there are no known, credible or specific threats to the Super Bowl or Las Vegas at this time but we are vigilant and we are prepared,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.
Mayorkas, who survived an impeachment vote in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, made his comments as a person reached the top of the 366-foot tall Sphere, a futuristic arena located just off the Las Vegas Strip that opened in September.
“They told me that this is an individual that is climbing the building for publicity,” Las Vegas police department sheriff Kevin McMahill said.
“He is currently on top of the building and we’re working to get him down.”
American pop superstar Taylor Swift could be among the 65,000 people in attendance at NFL’s championship game at Allegiant Stadium but her presence has not generated any credible threats either.
Either way, Mayorkas said security will be extremely tight at the event, which carries a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) designation.
“When there is an additional celebrity who will bring more attention, we are already at a heightened state of vigilance in fulfilling our responsibility just as we do every single day,” Mayorkas said.
Las Vegas was the site of a massacre on Oct. 1, 2017 which took place when a gunman opened fire on concert-goers from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
Fifty-eight people were killed initially in an attack which was the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history.
McMahill said his department had learned lessons.
“We have a number of security measures that we implement with our security partners ahead of every event including this one,” McMahill said.
“Obviously, I’m not going to divulge all the details of that.”
An attempt by House Republicans to impeach Mayokras, a Cabinet member who is U.S. President Joe Biden’s top border official, came up short on Tuesday amid partisan fighting over immigration.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, editing by Ed Osmond)
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