Philly inventors wants to build a bullet proof curtain

On both coasts of the U-S, armed gunmen caused terror and mayhem today. In Virginia, a man opened fire on a congressional softball practice, seriously injuring one congressman and several staffers. And in San Francisco, a shooting at a UPS warehouse has left four people dead, including the shooter. Inevitably, talk will focus on how to prevent such tragedies.

One team of engineering students at Drexel University is proposing an innovation that could help. After winning a Drexel design competition, the team is looking to manufacture a system of bullet-proof curtains dubbed the “Ballistic Curtain Cordon System.”

How it would work:

A ceiling-mounted, concealable, roll-able curtain could be deployed to interrupt a shooter’s ability to inflict mass causalities.  When strategically mounted into key locations of the building, such as hallways and room corners, the system of bullet proof curtains will afford building occupants the ability to escape the danger zone under the cover of the protective curtains.  

NewsWorks Tonight host Dave Heller talked about the system with team leader James Ostman. Listen to their conversation below.