Technology To Screen For Explosive Vests Coming To Penn Station
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Suicide vest-detection technology is coming to New York City's Penn Station.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said Monday that the federal Transportation Security Administration will start testing the screening equipment on Tuesday.
Schumer pushed for the technology to be tested in New York City after a Bangladeshi immigrant injured himself setting off a crude pipe bomb strapped to his chest in December.
The TSA has been working on the devices known as stand-off explosive detection units since 2004 with transit agencies like Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.
The technology has also been used to secure large-scale events like the Super Bowl and has been tested in a Los Angeles Metro station.
The machines, mounted on tripods, screen people at a distance without slowing them down. Several versions are being evaluated.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)