New York City police tighten security at Jewish sites

New York police ramped up security at synagogues and other Jewish institutions citywide on Monday following the deadly attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse, France.

The tightened surveillance and increased patrols at more than 40 locations came in response to the Toulouse attack and unspecified "events abroad," said Paul Browne, spokesman for the New York Police Department.

"Although there is no known specific threat against New York City, the NYPD has taken the precaution of stepping up coverage of Jewish neighborhoods and institutions in the city," Browne said in a statement.

"The NYPD's counter-terrorism posture is informed by events abroad, including the fatal attack on the Jewish school in Toulouse today," he said.

New York, home to more than 1.4 million Jews, has the largest Jewish population of any metropolitan area outside of Israel, said Levi Fishman, spokesman UJA-Federation of New York.

Following attacks abroad, the New York police typically reinforce security at corresponding locations such as hotels or the mass transit system.

In France, a gunman on a motor bike shot dead three children and a teacher at a Jewish school in Toulouse on Monday, just days after apparently killing three soldiers nearby.