[Mayor Bill De Blasio , New York City:] I want to make very clear that this individual could be armed and dangerous. He should be treated as armed and dangerous. Anyone seeing him should call 911 immediately. But we definitely have, now, someone that we want to get in immediately for questioning.
[Chris Cuomo, Cnn Anchor:] Mr. Mayor, are the authorities still saying that this man is part of a broader cell that they believe was operating in New Jersey? Is that still their consistent theory?
[De Blasio:] It's too early to say if there's something bigger. We know we want to get this individual in. And what's important now and this is why we always want to make sure law enforcement defines each step of the way what we believe is happening we need the facts to be able to piece all of this together and define was it an individual, was it more than one individual? Do these different incidents relate? I think we're going to know a lot more in the course of today. Things are moving very quickly and certainly we're going to have a lot more to say in just the next coming hours.
[Cuomo:] The idea of what the understanding is of what's going on, is it true to your understanding that the reason they want this guy is they think he may have been not just the organizer but the bombmaker and they're concerned about getting him so that he can't find his way into other situations and created even more threat.
[De Blasio:] I don't think we should assume too much. I think I can certainly read between the lines, though. Law enforcement is making clear they want to get him, they want to question him, and he may be armed and dangerous. So I think it's fair to say this is the person we're most interested in at this moment. And, Chris, a very important point. The people need to participate. Law enforcement is doing an amazing job. We have a huge police presence out in New York City right now in the subways, around the U.N. for the General Assembly. You're going to see a lot of strong police presence. And I believe this case is going to move very quickly and the NYPD and FBI are going to be able to find the people who did it, but we need the public's help. We typically get a lot of information from the public that helps law enforcement. Anyone who sees this individual or knows anything about him or his whereabouts needs to call it in right away.
[Cuomo:] What is your message to the people? Yes, this investigation is moving very quickly and, yet, this is a situation that was missed by authorities if it wasn't, in fact, an operating cell. What do you think should be the fear concern?
[De Blasio:] I think the reality is that our federal partners and certainly the NYPD, for 15 years, have done an extraordinary job of finding any individuals who might have had a plot in mind or thwarting plots as they were moving. We are in a different and more complex environment in terms of terror. We know there's going to be more attempts made. My point is people should have confidence. We have an extraordinary intelligence gathering apparatus between our federal partners and the NYPD. We have the biggest anti-terror capacity of any police force in this country and it's been growing in the last couple of years. I think people should have confidence that we're very well protected but there will be moments like this. There will be moments when someone tries something. Thank God, there were no fatalities the other night. And the important thing is to get this individual quickly and continue to be strong and vigilant. That's what we can do. But if you look at the history, the typical situation is any group that's attempting an attack is found out in time.
[Cuomo:] So, obviously now, there's always a concern about being deliberate, not getting ahead of the investigation. Clearly, investigators are treating this like what it seems, as a terror situation. Have they given you information about continued concern that there may be other bombs that were have been placed? That people should be unusually alert to see something and say something.
[De Blasio:] Not in the sense, Chris, that there is a specific description of something to look for. But I think the way you said it is right. New Yorkers and all people should be vigilant and should never assume. If you see a suspicious looking package we need to know about it right away. That's the bottom line. If you overhear a conversation where someone appears to be discussing a potential act of violence, law enforcement needs to know that right away. The public should recognize how crucial their role is. Our new police commissioner, James O'Neill, said this the other day, that the public can provide some of the key ingredients to help law enforcement finish this case and be able to protect people going forward. But the bottom line today, be vigilant. If you see something unusual, particularly an unusual package, we need itreported in right away. Don't explain it away, don't assume it's nothing. We want to know about it right away.
[Cuomo:] What a first day on the job for O'Neill as the city's new commissioner. The man on the screen right now how confident are investigators that he is the man on the video? He is the man that they're trying to zero in as the potential bombmaker?
[De Blasio:] I don't want to speak to that conclusion. I can say they're absolutely confident they need to get him in and question him. And the fact that they have now, in just the last moments, put out a photo shows real confidence on the part of law enforcement that this is someone that is likely involved in one way or another. But we shouldn't speculate, yet, how many people or what role each person played. What we do know is we do need to get this guy in right away. Now again, my experience with the NYPD and the FBI is once they zero in on someone they will get them.
[Cuomo:] How confident are they that they have their hands around the scope of this cell? Do they have any confidence that they know about how many people are involved, how many they're still looking for? Any sense of that?
[De Blasio:] Chris, I would be careful in using the word cell. I understand it's a way to describe something but I would be careful. We do not know yet if it is only one individual, more than one individual, if it is an organized group or not. We should not assume that yet. But we know we've got one person we need to talk to. And as we talk to this individual and again, I have a high level of confidence that law enforcement will bring him in we're going to be able to then start to have more knowledge of what happened here and if there were additional people involved.
[Cuomo:] All right. Mr. Mayor, we'll stay in touch with you and your office. Thank you very much for joining us on NEW DAY. We're going to keep organizing the reporting that's coming in right now. There is new information. We'll take a quick break and then we'll come back with our reporting as we get it.
[Alisyn Camerota, Cnn Anchor:] Well have a lot more on the breaking news, so stick around. We'll be right back.