Sept. 22: Washington police cars are stationed outside the Verizon Center stadium, where the Wizards play basketball and the Capitals play hockey.

Sept. 22: Washington police cars are stationed outside the Verizon Center stadium, where the Wizards play basketball and the Capitals play hockey.

NEW YORK —  As many as 24 people may be under observation in a suspected cross-country terror plot, as police in New York City stepped up patrols and increased random searches on mass transit Wednesday.

Reports surfaced of up to two dozen more people under scrutiny who may have knowledge of or involvement in a suspected terrorism scheme that led to the arrest of a Denver shuttle driver and two others. Federal and local officials declined comment.

Amid media reports that some public storage centers in the region were being raided for a second day in the New York-Colorado investigation, the FBI told FOX News that there may be “consensual searches” under way but they were not “raids.”

Though one unidentified senior law enforcement source told ABC News, “I’ve never been so worried,” and unnamed officials said they’re afraid plots against New York City are “still alive,” authorities speaking publicly sounded less alarmed.

Police in New York and Washington, D.C. downplayed the threats to their cities and any spike in security. They echoed federal authorities, saying there were no known or specific threats to the sites mentioned in federal bulletins issued earlier this week.

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