Charleston airport first to install active shooter alert system in public areas
Charleston SC October 16 2018 South Carolina’s busiest airport will soon be equipped with a security system that will set it apart from its U.S. peers.
Charleston International is adding gunshot detection sensors to alert police and ticket holders of an incident on the section of the terminal that’s before the federal security checkpoint.
It’s the first airport in the nation to install the gunshot recognition system in the public part of a passenger terminal, according to Kendra Noonan of Shooter Detection Systems, the Massachusetts-based company selected to provide the technology.
The public side of the terminal includes all of the sections before ticket holders go through the screening area, where the Transportation Security Administration checks passengers and carry-on bags for potentially dangerous items.
The extra level of protection follows a spate of mass public shootings, including one in early 2017 in the baggage claim area of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in South Florida that left five people dead and six others wounded.
Charleston’s terminal itself offers a reminder of the Holy City’s own mass shooting. A tribute to the nine victims of the Emanuel AME Church massacre in 2015 is on display beside the atrium.
The new system, at a cost of about $170,000, is meant to keep the flying public as safe as possible, airport CEO Paul Campbell said.
Charleston International is on pace to accommodate 4 million passengers this year.
“With this system our first responders will quickly receive shot location information so they can respond directly to a verified threat,” Campbell said. “It’s life-saving technology that adds a vital layer of security against the active shooter threat.”
The system includes sensors that detect gunshots and visual flashes from a fired weapon, alerting people in the terminal and emergency personnel immediately of a shooting incident.
“Hopefully, we will never need it, but we will have it just in case,” Campbell said.
The system can be configured to create gunshot detection alarms, activate door locking or open doors for safe exiting, queue cameras to record a shooter’s location, and stream live video along with maps to reduce response time, according to Shooter Detection Systems.
