DETROIT (WXYZ) — While they may look like simple decorative columns, security bollards are quietly becoming a powerful line of defense across metro Detroit.
These security bollards are playing a growing role in protecting so-called “soft targets” from potential threats.
And an increasingly common weapon in those threats is not a blade, bomb, or firearm — but a car.
"Any place where there's gonna be a large concentration of people ... becomes a soft target, and it becomes a risk for somebody doing exactly what they did at Temple Israel, right? Using their car as a weapon," said Andy Bartnowak.
Bartnowak, a former FBI agent, says it’s not new — but it’s getting more attention after recent incidents.
"We've seen overseas where, where vehicles have been driven into large crowds who are participating in festivities. I want to say two years ago, we saw it down in New Orleans, right before some of the major college football bowl games, right, where somebody drove their vehicle in New Orleans. So, I don't know that this is a trend that just started—it's been going on for a while. I think it's coming more to the forefront with some of the perhaps recent incidents that we've had," he said.
In September of 2025, Thomas Sanford drove his pickup truck into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, opening fire and setting it ablaze— killing four and injuring eight — before police shot and killed him.
Related Story: Bodycam shows heroic actions of first responders during Grand Blanc Twp. attack
In West Bloomfield, police say Ayman Ghazali drove his truck into Temple Israel and set it on fire. Security bollards forced him to drive around, possibly buying security time.
"It proved that it deters people from, you know, from if they want to do something dangerous or intentional like that where they want to hurt people," said Jesse Venegas, co-owner of Ideal Shield. "And one of the best ... tools for prevention is to actually have some deterrent out there."
Ideal Shield in southwest Detroit manufactures security bollards for clients worldwide, including Fortune 500 companies.
"It'll stop 2,500 pounds at 40 miles an hour," he said.
Venegas says demand is climbing.
"We started off with originally only two or three products, a guard rail system and a bollard system, and now we're over 45 different unique products that we've done over the years. Our sales have gone from, you know, from 10 to 15 million all the way up to 40 million a year. And so we've grown significantly. We have over 50 people just in this division here building products," said Venegas.
According to the Storefront Safety Council, which works to prevent vehicle-in-building crashes, storefront crashes kill about 2,600 people a year and injure roughly 16,000.
Security bollards—made of varying grades of steel— are designed to stop speeding vehicles dead in their tracks.
According to Ideal Shield, a single bollard can range in cost from $100 to upwards of $10,000.
But not all bollards are created or installed equally.
In January, a man drove through a bollard at DTW’s McNamara Terminal—crashing into the ticketing lobby, narrowly missing bystanders inside.
Related Story: Car crashes into McNamara Terminal
"I would’ve thought our bollards would have stopped the vehicle, but it's evident that they don't. So having that information, we are now taking the necessary steps to ensure that whatever goes up will stop vehicles," said Tad Sturdivant with the Wayne County Airport Authority during a press conference.
As airport officials work on a permanent fix, DTW installed 9,000-pound concrete barriers outside both terminals.
"And you can be self-assured if we step to the other side of these bollards and a vehicle comes at us, it's not getting through three feet. That includes something as large as a 15,000-pound vehicle," said Robert Miller, a perimeter security expert.
Miller oversaw the installation of hundreds of security bollards at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit.
"Making sure that the foundations were correct, that the rebar was where it's supposed to be, and again, it's not just a piece of pipe in the ground. This is an integrated engineered system that's designed to stop a vehicle," said Miller.
From LCA to the University of Michigan.
"So we installed 162 security bollards around the perimeter of the Big House. There was an average of 40 in each quadrant corner entrance of the stadium," said Chris Briggs.
From places of worship to small businesses like the Armed in Michigan gun shop in Westland —security bollards are standing guard.
Owner Spencer Wong fortified the shop after a group of young men drove a stolen car through the front door back in 2022—stealing dozens of firearms.
"So before that, we had the metal shutters coming down on the doors and windows, and we always thought, again, if someone's gonna try to do something, they would never, well, they would never try here, which they did. And then we started putting the poles, the boulders are even better than the poles because they're heavier, and then we did around the whole building. And so, yeah, never again, hopefully," said Wong.
Never again. Those two words are driving efforts to harden soft targets from smash and grabs, medical emergencies behind the wheel or intentional acts of violence.
And for many tasked with securing those locations, bollards are becoming a fast, affordable and effective means of doing so.
"Are we going to be seeing more of these?" I asked Miller.
"Absolutely. All I can say is when bad things happen, my business gets really, really busy," he said.
