Why the inquisitive tone? I understand that the AP is aiming to be non-partisan, but FFS it was clearly an LRAD. Video and victim accounts line up with previous available material about the weapons. Add to that the photographs of LRADs deployed to the area at the time of the incident - this isn’t some Sherlock Holmes mystery, if there’s another entirely different weapon which can spur widespread, instant crowd panic without making a sound then I’m all ears, because I’ve never heard of it. Re-linking footage of the attack from URL used in other comment. Watch the crowd of hundreds reacting to nothing observable at the 0:07 mark
“When presented with photos of the device mounted on an off-road vehicle and deployed at the rally of hundreds of thousands of protesters, officials admitted possessing a sonic weapon, but insisted it was not used against the protesters.”
Liars.
It’s relatively new, in terms of weapons. They’ve apparently been adopted on some domestic U.S. military bases as a means to repel attacks, but I haven’t seen any news reports of people rushing the gates. It’s extremely effective for “area denial”, and its potential use against demonstrators (peaceful, not rioting) will inevitably cause fatalities - I guarantee that it won’t be long before it’s used in a situation that doesn’t merit the use of force. Someone will die, hearings will be held, nothing will happen, and it will continue to be used to abuse and assault participants of marches, sit-ins, etc. during scenarios where there was no hazard to Police.
see: truncheons, fire hoses, tear gas, rubber bullets…
What confuses me tho is the fact that government itself welcomed external investigators to prove no such device was used. If you were at fault, you don’t normally welcome investigators to look into you, but might just be mind games
I am from neighbouring Croatia, I fully despise their government and leader Vučić, a lot of fake hateful propaganda towards Croatia, a lot of corruption in their country. I hope they succeed in renewing their country and improve institutions.
Craziest part is that Vučić claims no such weapons were used during moments of silence and corrupt doctors claim no people arrived at hospital with symptoms from attack. Absolutely discusting lies that makes everyone who knows justice wanna act furiosly.
Does anyone know if noise cancelling works against or diminishes this sound?
No, your airpods will not protect you from this. Not only will the sheer volume of sound overwhelm their tiny ANC speakers, but sonic weapons affect more than just the eardrum. They can affect your heart, lungs, and other organs.
I watched a video after this happened where a guy was testing defenses. He tried what he called electric headphones that I’m guessing are noise canceling, and they made it worse. Best defense was ear muffs and a riot shield.
Video: https://youtu.be/CXKTBQBugIA
No, the sound is transmitted through the body rather than just via the auditory system in such a way that simply plugging or covering your ears will provide no protection from the effect. As analogy, imagine the effect of a train whistle or jet engine on someone who’s within 1-25 ft., but 100% deaf. It wouldn’t need to be heard by their ears per se as it would be so powerful as to be transmitted into the target’s body, which would reacts accordingly to a 100+ decibel sound.
I’ll just leave this here
Could a potentially trained group of protesters resist this? Say, if leaflets were explaining the effects of this thing, could people bear it and march on?
