With Lone-Wolf Attacks, Expert Says Swift Response Is Necessary

It is nearly impossible to prevent an attack like the one that occurred Monday morning in the subway station underneath the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

But it is possible to react swiftly and decisively.

So says Stephen Flynn, founding director of the Global Resilience Institute at Northeastern University.

"When you talk about a lone wolf, a single attacker, something in a backpack it's almost impossible to prevent," Flynn told WNYC. "I think there's some reassurance that we can take from this incident, in terms of the speed at which the police were able to isolate what had happened, and isolate as well the parts of the system that need to be shut down while keeping the rest of the system going."

Other major cities like Beijing, Moscow and Delhi have body scanners in the subway to prevent terror attacks. But Flynn argued that it would be challenging to install these types of devices in New York City. "It could be done, but only by profoundly disrupting the way in which people move around and get around in a system that is already stressed," he said.