MTSU adds new weapons detection system

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) is investing in a brand-new weapons detection system with a nearly $2 million state grant.

In a time where campus shootings and threats are top of mind, police are adding Athena weapons detection systems at the gates of every major event.

“We have some pretty large events. We’re Division 1s; we have football games and basketball games and soccer games and concerts and political events,” MTSU Chief of Police Edwin Kaup said. “As opposed to old metal detectors that get everything — your keys, your phones — here, we don’t have to do that. We can walk through; as long as you don’t have a weapon, you should be good.”

The systems are part of a $1.8 million higher education safety grant.

Students said this extra layer of protection gives them peace of mind when it comes to keeping guns off campus.

“It’s really not possible to have massive, like, harmful events if we don’t have those things floating around, so it keeps that from happening,” sophomore Ellaleigh Hall said.

“I think that’s an awesome idea because you have that extra protection, you don’t have to worry that what if somebody has it, and it makes people feel more safe and more just happy that they know that the extra protection is there for them,” sophomore Brea Deams added.

Others appreciated the efficiency of the systems.

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“I think if this technology gets through people faster, as well as is better at detecting these weapons, I think that’s a great thing, assuming it works well,” graduate student Miles Damaso said.

Grant money was also used to add LED lighting around campus and solar-powered lights at each bus stop. The department also invested in new radio frequency technology to help police communicate with area law enforcement.

“Although nothing can assure safety, we’re trying to, and we’re trying to also make the public feel safer coming in, knowing that we’re doing this,” Kaup said.

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