Suicide Vest Detectors Come To Penn Station

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — New technology designed to thwart suicide bombers before they have a chance to detonate a device debuted Tuesday in New York City's busiest transit hub. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began testing the new device — known as Stand Off Explosive Detection Technology — in Penn Station.

Stand Off Explosive Detection Technology works by screening people as they pass by it, according to a press release from New York Sen. Chuck Schumer. The technology can identify the presence of an explosive device such as a pipe bomb or suicide vest and immediately alert security personnel to the presence of the threat.

"The ability to detect concealed explosives worn by cowards looking to do us harm – demands the federal government continue to put both the testing and the perfecting of this technology on the fast-track," Schumer said in a statement. "America’s busiest cities, like New York, are the places where these devices will save lives, and if they work as well as touted, we must pursue an expedited seal of approval that gives all of us another layer of security to fend off would be lone wolf terror. "

Schumer called on the TSA and the federal government to implement strategies such as Stand Off Explosive Detection Technology in New York City after a Dec. 11 bombing attempt in the tunnel connecting the Times Square subway station to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Akayed Ullah detonated an improvised explosive device resembling a pipe bomb inside the tunnel, injuring three people and seriously injuring himself. Ullah, 27, of Flatlands, Brooklyn told investigators he was inspired by ISIS, though officials do not believe he had any direct connection to the group, law enforcement sources said.

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