LA Metro Tests New Weapons, Explosives Screening System

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) – Public transportation users across Los Angeles could soon find themselves going through a system that screens for weapons and explosives.

The L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has begun a pilot project on a new technology that can "automatically detect" what it terms as "mass casualty threats." According to Metro, the security system, developed by Evolv Technology, can scan 600 passengers per hour.

On Wednesday, it tested the system on riders at the entrance of the Union Station Red Line stop.

The program is in association with the Transportation Security Administration. It's unclear when the system would go into wide use.

Metro has been working to increase security at its stations following a series of security scares. In June, deputies arrested a man with an arsenal of weapons at a Pasadena Gold Line station. Authorities say he had a loaded AR-15, a pistol, a machete-style knife, silencers and ammunition.

In March, a man was stabbed to death on the Purple Line platform of the Wilshire/Normandie station in Koreatown.