Las Vegas police see no local threat in deadly Belgium terrorist attacks — VIDEO

Las Vegas police are increasing patrols around the valley in response to the deadly terrorist attacks Tuesday in Belgium.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for both the Brussels airport and subway station blasts, which have killed at least 34 people, The Associated Press reported late Tuesday.

A Henderson couple, Catherine and Philippe Breyer, were injured in the airport blast, according to several Facebook posts and family friends who spoke with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. They were on their way back to the valley that morning as they stood in line for American Airlines before the first explosion.

“First thing this morning I got a call,” said Paul Goldensohn, 59, a longtime friend and neighbor. “It was a shock.”

Both Catherine and Philippe were injured but on the mend as of Tuesday night, though Philippe’s condition was still listed as serious.

“You can always be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the fact that it hit them,” Goldensohn said, pausing. “They’re both in good physical shape. But what are you going to do if someone puts a bomb near you? It doesn’t matter how athletic you are. It’s just a shame.”

Goldensohn said the couple had been in Belgium for less than two weeks, where they also owned property. He added Philippe was often in Belgium for work over the last three years but Catherine was typically in the valley about eight months out of the year.

According to Web pages, Philippe, 59, is head of business development at Euroclear, negotiating strategic investments and executing merger and acquisition transactions on behalf of the group. He’s also on the board of directors at Taskize, a London-based financial technology company.

Friends say Catherine, 57, is an avid tennis player at the Anthem Country Club. Her statistics appear on several league websites.

Reports say Tuesday’s airport explosion also seriously injured three Mormon missionaries from Utah who were serving in Paris, including Joseph Empey, 20, of Santa Clara, Utah.

Assistant Sheriff Todd Fasulo said Tuesday afternoon there have been no credible threats to the valley, but residents can expect to see more uniformed officers at McCarran International Airport, on the Strip, in downtown Las Vegas and at critical infrastructure sites such as power plants.

He made the remarks at a news conference at the Metropolitan Police Department’s counterterrorism Fusion Center, a real-time crime information hub where dozens of officers watch live video feeds from around the valley and intelligence officers share information with federal agencies and more than 100 officers working at the airport.

“We take that very seriously here in Las Vegas. As you know, we have 42 million visitors that come to the town,” Fasulo said. “Beyond our normal efforts for homeland security, anytime we have an incident like this, either abroad or in our homeland, we take a few extra measures to make sure that people in our community feel safe.”

Fasulo, who manages operations for the department, said he couldn’t divulge specifics about its deployment strategies, but police have spoken with resort security to exchange information and best practices.

About 24 officers are typically assigned to 10-hour shifts on the Strip; 12 to 16 officers are assigned there during the week.

CNN reported that U.S. airlines including Delta, United and American canceled flights Tuesday after two deadly blasts in a packed departure area of the Brussels Airport at Zaventem.

McCarran officials said that, since the airport has no direct flights to Belgium, outgoing flights have not been affected.

“We don’t expect any operational impacts as a result of that incident,” spokeswoman Christine Crews said.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a statement Tuesday morning saying there is no specific credible intelligence of any plot to conduct similar attacks in the United States.

He added that as a precautionary measure, the Transportation Security Administration is deploying additional security to major city airports in the United States, but he didn’t specify which airports and whether McCarran would be one of them.

Fasulo said his officers know every inch of the airport, and the department is stepping up patrols in check-in areas and ticket counters.

“When things like this occur we put more visible presence in the front curb. You’ll see police cars in random places. You’ll see uniformed police officers walking and interacting with the public on a normal basis, specifically out there on that curb line.”

Although there hasn’t been a specific threat to Las Vegas, Fasulo stressed the importance of the department’s outreach to the local Muslim communities and that the public reports suspicious activity.

“They key is the intelligence we get from all of our partners,” he said. “All it takes is that one little, teeny piece of information that gets us into something that maybe we prevent something bad from happening.”

At Nellis Air Force Base, a sign for motorists entering the main entrance Tuesday showed the force protection level remained at Bravo, the third-highest on the military’s five-tiered scale.

In May, the Defense Department’s U.S. Northern Command elevated force protection levels for all military facilities in the continental United States, including Nellis and Creech Air Force Base, 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas, after a perceived threat from Islamic State militants.

The Defense Department defines Force Protection Bravo as an “increased and predictable threat of terrorism.”

U.S. military installations last increased their force protection level from “Alpha,” second lowest, to “Bravo” in 2011. The level was raised on May 1, 2011, after the raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, and later that year for the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked jetliner attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The lowest level on the tier is “Normal,” or no known threat.

Fasulo said the last time the department had a serious threat against Las Vegas was at the end of 2015. Officers ran down every tip they got during the holiday season, and the threat proved to be unfounded.

Gov. Brian Sandoval ordered flags be lowered to half-staff Tuesday until sunset Saturday as a mark of respect for the victims in Belgium.

“The State of Nevada stands with the people of Brussels and the hundreds of victims of today’s senseless and tragic attack. I have ordered the Division of Emergency Management, Office of Homeland Security and Department of Public Safety to remain vigilant in the wake of these horrific attacks,” Sandoval said in a statement.

Shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday, the High Roller on the Strip lit up red and yellow — two of the three colors in the Belgian flag — to honor people who died in the Brussels attacks.

Review-Journal writers Richard N. Velotta, Keith Rogers and Rachel Crosby contributed to this report. Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find @WesJuhl on Twitter.