American student fell victim to knife attack, AI weapon scanner failed to detect knife | Abroad

On Halloween last year, student Ehni Ler Htoo was walking down the hallway of his New York school when another student stabbed him with a knife. The 18-year-old victim survived the attack but suffered multiple stab wounds to his head, neck, face, shoulder, back and hand, according to his lawyer.

The knife used in the attack was smuggled into Proctor High School despite the presence of a detection system. The system was installed by British security company ‘Evolv Technology’, which wants to replace traditional metal detectors with AI weapon scanners.

Instead of just detecting metal, the detection system uses “powerful sensor technology combined with artificial intelligence,” says Evolv. When the system detects a concealed weapon – such as knives, bombs or guns – it triggers an alert. The company has publicly stated that their systems are highly accurate and that the scanners can help create “gun-free zones.”

Security footage from the school shows the perpetrator entering the high school and walking through the Evolv weapon scanners. “When we watched the gruesome video, we all asked the same question: How did the student get the knife into the school?” said Brian Nolan, temporary director of Utica Schools.

The attack sparked an internal investigation by the Utica school district. “Investigations have shown that the Evolv weapon detection system is not designed to detect knives,” said Nolan. Since the attack, three more knives were found in other schools in the district where Evolv systems are still in operation. “The kids who had the knives all said they just walked through the weapon detection system,” the director said.

The scanners were immediately removed in the high school and replaced with metal detectors. However, the scanners are still working in twelve other New York district schools.