ABOUT SHOOTER DETECTION SYSTEMS
A HISTORY OF LIFE SAVING INNOVATION
Our technology saves lives. And we’ve been here since the beginning.
In 1995 a research arm of the DoD called the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsored the development of prototype systems that paired acoustic muzzle blast and ballistic shock wave signatures to accurately predict the location of gunfire events and associated shooter locations. It wasn’t until the Iraq War in 2003 that the need for these systems became critical to detect sniper fire aimed at U.S. troops in battle.
A team of leading acoustic scientists out of Cambridge, Massachusetts took their successful DARPA innovation and rapidly developed a vehicle gunshot detection system that could not only localize a shooter to +/- 15-degree accuracy, but that could report within one second of a shot, and did so on vehicles traveling up to 60 miles per hour on rough terrain and in harsh environments. The Boomerang Shooter Detection System was rapidly fielded for military use.
Boomerang has been battle-tested in the deserts of the Middle East and is protecting troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning the respect of the Department of Defense, DHS and those dedicated to ensuring the safety of vital American interests and personnel abroad.
Boomerang’s core technology was further developed into soldier/officer worn, helicopter, and fixed perimeter defense gunshot detection solutions and is credited with saving hundreds of lives on the battlefield in key conflicts across the globe.
SDS was founded by Christian Connors in 2013 with a singular focus: Commercialize the lifesaving technology in Boomerang to protect the public against the rising active shooter threat to our nation’s critical infrastructure, schools, workplaces and public venues. This technology became The Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System.
The Guardian System expanded to include both PoE and Wireless/Battery-Powered dual-mode acoustic and infrared gunshot detection sensors to choose from; situational awareness and notification software with network security features that scale from single-building installations to multi-building/multi-site installations in global enterprise deployments; a patented handheld field-testing device; and a library of certified, mutually supported IP integrations with the security industry’s leading VMS, Access Control, Mass Notification and other technologies.
In 2020 SDS was acquired by Alarm.com (NASDAQ: ALRM) to expand Alarm.com’s commercial security offering while investing in engineering research and development to expand SDS’ core line of gunshot detection sensors and partner ecosystem.
Today, Shooter Detection Systems is the industry’s leading provider of gunshot detection solutions and serves customers in education, transportation, corporate enterprise, retail, and government markets.
When every second means that lives are on the line, place your trust in proven technology offered by experts in their field.
Shooter Detection Systems believes that every citizen deserves the right to the highest protection against active shooters in their everyday locations as employees at work, students in school, and as visitors to municipal, government, recreational and retail spaces. As a critical part of accomplishing this goal, we are equally dedicated to the protection of critical infrastructure against shooter threats to homeland security. Overall, SDS is committed to improving the global security infrastructure by developing gunshot detection solutions that far exceed industry standards for quality, safety and performance and that will reduce response time, provide greater clarity in communications, and save lives in active shooter incidents.
This is Shooter Detection Systems.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Rich Onofrio
Managing Director
“Having worked on the development of gunshot detection devices for vehicles, helicopters, and soldier worn at BBN Technologies, designing an indoor system for the commercial market has been an exciting undertaking. At SDS we expect the highest level of performance from our products, our team, and our industry partners. I enjoy leading the team and working closely with our customers to help them design solutions that make a difference.”
Ron Fowler
Chief Technology Officer
“I’m proud to be able to bring my experience in the sensing, messaging and audio technology fields as well as the development of military gunshot detection devices to this incredibly dedicated team. As a father and youth advisor, keeping our community’s young people safe when they are most vulnerable is a personal passion of mine, and a driving force behind my pursuit of SDS’s mission.”
Kevin Lech
Chief Financial Officer & Vice President of Operations
“I’m happy to be part of a team that brings such a high level of knowledge and experience in the field of gunshot detection to this industry. I enjoy doing my part to bring our customers sound budgetary solutions and staying with them through the installation process to keep their projects on target. It’s very satisfying to provide solutions that fit what our customers tell us is the missing piece to address the active shooter threat.”
Brian JohnPaoli
Director of Sales Operations
“I have dedicated my career to helping security integrators design technology solutions that make security end users’ day to day operations better. At SDS I get to take that passion one step further and close the gap between where traditional security solutions fail and gunshot detection succeeds; reducing response time to active shooter incidents when seconds can mean the difference between life and death.”
Kendra Noonan
Director of Communications
“It is extremely satisfying to see our company and our brand be recognized as the market-leader in gunshot detection. I enjoy working with my team and our partners to innovate more creative ways to educate the market and ultimately bring our gunshot detection solutions to the world in a way that contributes to the growth of our company while maintaining our great reputation in the industry.”
Rob Errico
Director, Customer Support & Training
“Managing the front lines of support for SDS means that no two days are the same and it’s always exciting. I help keep our systems up and running, solve network problems, and develop integrated technology solutions with our partners. My team gets to interface with all types of customers, helping them solve problems that keep our lifesaving solution on 24/7, protecting children in school and people at work. It’s very satisfying to know that what we do makes a difference.”