Security top priority for St. Pete Pride

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - This weekend more than 250,000 people will flood into downtown St. Pete for the city’s Gay Pride Festival.

It is the largest Pride celebration in the state of Florida and, right now, a massive operation is underway to ensure everyone’s safety.

The St. Pete Police Department is setting up an emergency operations center – already working with intelligence agencies to neutralize any threats.

For Chief Anthony Holloway’s department, it’s all hands on deck following recent terror attacks on other, similar soft targets – and of course the Pulse nightclub massacre still weighing heavy.

The chief’s message: We’ve got this.

“We just make sure we are ready to react to anything as it happens,” Chief Holloway said. “And we’ve got the resources.”

Pride is expected to pump more than $20 million into downtown.

Police are asking for the public’s help by texting pictures or info to tips411 of any suspicious activity.