Mall Group That Owns 2 Long Island Malls Threatened in New Terrorist Video

A Somalia-based terror group has apparently called for attacks on shopping centers run by Westfield Group, which owns two malls located on Long Island.

The threat surfaced in the form of a video specifically urging attacks on the Mall of America in Minnesota, West Edmonton Mall in Canada, and two shopping centers in the London area, all owned by Australian-based Westfield, according to The Independent.

However, the masked man in the video, purportedly from Al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based extremist group that is linked to Al-Qaeda, encourages attacks on all Westfield malls. “Can you imagine what a dedicated mujahedeen in the West could do to the American and Jewish-owned shopping centres across the world?” he says.

The threat encourages an attack similar to one in Kenya in 2013 that lasted several days and left 67 people dead, according to the report.

Westfield Group owns Westfield Sunrise Mall in Massapequa and Westfield South Shore in Bay Shore. Neither Long Island location was mentioned in the threat, which has not yet been verified by authorities.

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“There is no evidence of an imminent threat to our shopping centres but as always Westfield Corporation will take every available step to keep our shopping centres safe for staff, retailers and customers,” company officials said in a statement Monday.

While their “policy is to not publicly discuss security procedures,” Westfield said their “heads of security in the US and UK continue to coordinate their activities with police and government agencies. As usual significant resources continue to be devoted to security arrangements in our shopping centres and they continue to operate as normal.

Politicians reacted to the news saying residents should be cautious but have faith in law enforcement.

“Americans must take this Al Shabaab threat seriously,” Rep. Peter King, R-Massapequa, wrote on Facebook. “We should not, however, go into hiding or stay away from malls. Police, the FBI, Homeland Security and all our counterterrorism forces are doing all they can to prevent an attack.”

Saying the threat should be taken seriously, Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-Patchogue, said, “Complacency can lead to an unnecessary vulnerability that can increase the risk of a domestic attack. This latest threat is just another reminder that we must have great communication, training and resources for our intelligence network and local law enforcement.”

Zeldin added that the nation’s best tools for intelligence gathering is from individuals contacting authorities whenever they come in direct or indirect contact with anything suspicious that can potentially be of use in determining whether a threat exists.”

Property groups that own other Long Island malls have not yet announced any security procedures in response to the threats.

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