The NYPD has been on the alert for weeks for possible attacks similar to Friday’s deliberate RV explosion in Nashville, The Post has learned.
An internal NYPD memo issued earlier this month warned that law enforcement were the “priority targets” for terror attacks involving homemade bombs and vehicle arson.
The Dec. 14 memo, obtained by The Post, said violent extremists and “malicious criminal actors” might go after cops to exacerbate tensions, “exploit civil unrest” and incite further violence.
The document referenced Al-Qaeda propaganda released on Nov. 26 that urged radical jihadists to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to attack “priority targets.”
Those targets included retired officers, business leaders, intelligence personnel and “soldiers and police of every brand.”
Suggested attack methods were “stones, weights, edged weapons” — as well as improvised explosive devices and the arson of commercial buildings and vehicles.
Authorities haven’t yet released a motive for the attack in Nashville and no suspects have been identified, but retired NYPD detective Bill Ryan told Fox News he wouldn’t rule out first responders and police officers as the intended targets.
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