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Extra security planned for OneAmerica 500

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon will kick off this Saturday. Indianapolis Homeland Security is expecting more than 100,000 people to be downtown for the annual event.

Extra security presence will be evident throughout the downtown area. A mobile command unit will set up in a parking lot near New York and West Streets.

Inside, investigators will be able to monitor cameras around the Indianapolis area. Undercover officers and those in uniforms will also make rounds around the route.

This level of heightened security intensified after the Boston Marathon Bombings in 2013. Those bombings resulted in four deaths, and 280 people were injured.

There have been no major incidents during the OneAmerica Mini in the past.

“We have a very good security plan in place for the Mini-Marathon,” said Deputy Chief of Indianapolis Homeland Security Mike Bates.

Crews will also monitor weather patterns, and evacuation plans are in place.

Workers at the Regional Operations Center, also known as the ROC, will watch surveillance cameras positioned around the city.