Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Like any other school day at the International Preparatory School on 10th Street in Buffalo Friday morning, students began filing through the doors at 7:45 a.m..
But this day was different as the Buffalo Public Schools were implementing the Evolv weapons detection system at the entrance.
Two unassuming towers lined the walkway just inside the school entrance and as students passed through with backpacks in hand, the system quietly scanned them for anything potentially dangerous and a red light would signal to the system operator if anything was detected.
There were a number of red lights Friday as the sensitivity was set at its highest for day one as the system was being implemented. In all red light instances, students were quickly pulled aside and were searched in the area where the system showed a 'red box' where a potentially dangerous device could have been. Nothing out of the ordinary was detected Friday.
The process didn't seem to slow the arrival of students unduly and students seemed to adapt to the process easily as Superintendent Dr. Tonja Williams watched quietly from afar.
Overseeing the implementation was district Chief Operating Officer David Hills, who told WBEN that if something is detected, the student is directed to another station for closer inspection. "At the secondary table they have a separate monitor that shows exactly what was identified in a frozen image ... and then they can do a targeted look which will often be the book bag."
Admittedly nothing is 100 percent effective and there may be ways around the system, but how confident is Hills in this system? "I was 14 years a building principal, I've been central office for now 3 years, I'm confident enough to put my reputation on it," Hills said.
"This is what was needed."