Youngstown, Ohio – Since the terrorist attacks at Stade de France, a Paris soccer stadium, government officials and stadium security experts have come together to share ideas and discover new ways to mitigate threats and reduce casualties in attacks designed to do widespread harm. Specifically recognizing the growing threat of the active shooter in both public and private facilities, Youngstown Mayor John McNally is proactively exploring ways to improve preparedness and response to such events.

On May 18, 2016 Mayor McNally brought together community leaders, law enforcement and elected officials from Mahoning, Trumbull and Western Pennsylvania to view a live fire demonstration of the Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System, shown for the first time in a sports and entertainment stadium environment at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown. SDS’ Vice President of Operations Kevin Lech provided the audience with an overview of how the system instantly detects gunshots, reports the shooter’s location, and alerts police and building occupants of an active shooter in a facility.

To kick off the demonstration, a mock active shooter with an M4 assault rifle, played by a Youngstown Police Officer, fired blanks throughout the facility. Guardian instantly alerted every shot fired, providing the audience with an audible “SHOT DETECTED” and a visual locator of the shot on a stadium floor plan. Simultaneously, cameras integrated with the Guardian system showed the audience a visual of the shooter’s location.

Always a powerful demonstration, attendees were able to see firsthand how the Guardian system’s immediate alerting and notification aided First Responders in swift take-down of the mock active shooter in the Covelli Centre, a 9,000 seat stadium. Had the stadium been filled to capacity, and in a real active shooter scenario with the Guardian technology in place, the immediate and accurate information relayed to building security and law enforcement would reduce response time dramatically, potentially saving lives.

The Youngstown demonstration was SDS’ premier event of its kind in the Mahoning and Trumbull Counties.  “Although we are installed nationwide, as well as moving into the international market, there has been a gap in this region of the Midwest when it comes to familiarizing the nation with our technology” said Christian Connors, Founder and CEO of Shooter Detection Systems. “We appreciate that Mayor McNally’s forward-thinking approach to public safety offers us the opportunity to present our technology to this region’s law enforcement and elected officials.”