People in Bridgeport tell News 12 Connecticut that awareness of terrorism is a part of everyday life, but the attacks in London really focused their attention on the topic.

Walter Andrews is a seventh-grader at Capital Prep Harbor School who is currently studying terrorism as part of a class on social justice. He says the coordinated attacks in central London are just as terrifying as Islamic State group beheadings and backpack bombs.

“I feel scared because I don't want to be the next one to get my head cut off or be killed,” he says.

Local officials say homeland security forces very carefully monitor Bridgeport Harbor, an area that contains several potential targets, from the port to the power plant, and from rail to raised roads.  

Sen. Richard Blumenthal says wherever he went on Sunday, people were talking about the attacks in London.

He said the images from the attacks are very disturbing and require a heightened level of commitment by the state and federal government.   

“What's necessary is investment in the infrastructure that protects our nation, not only roads and bridges, rail and ports, but also in the intelligence capabilities -- cyber, which is so important in protecting and preventing these acts of terrorism,” he says.

As London recovers from the latest attack, Blumenthal says state and local leaders need to be ready for anything. He says the U.S. needs to build stronger ties with Britain, Germany and France, and work more closely with those countries in sharing intelligence.