In response to the frequent occurrence of school shootings in recent years, nine schools in three states in the United States will be introducing a new security device in the upcoming school year: unmanned drones equipped with pepper spray, strobe lights, and alarm sounds.
According to a report by Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) on Wednesday, three schools in Florida, five in Georgia, and one in Colorado will pilot the deployment of drones in the new school year.
The unmanned drones, known as “Campus Guardian Angel,” were developed by Mithril Defense, headquartered in Austin, Texas.
The company stated that these drones can reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, able to counteract shooters within seconds, at least distracting the attention of the shooter and buying crucial time for law enforcement to arrive.
Justin Marston, the CEO of Mithril Defense, revealed that the drones are stored in secure lockboxes at the schools and can be activated by teachers in emergency situations.
Subsequently, the drones will be remotely controlled by operators at the Austin headquarters, flying through school corridors at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, pinpointing the shooter within 15 seconds, and using a combination of alarm sounds, strobe lights, and pepper spray to subdue them. If necessary, the drones can even directly impact the shooter at speeds of 60 miles per hour.
Marston emphasized that “the life of a police officer is irreplaceable, and they should not risk doing what a drone can do.”
He also noted that the cost of procuring drone systems for schools would be subsidized by the state government, estimating an annual cost of around $20,000 for a school measuring 80,000 square feet, which is lower than the cost of hiring a security guard.
According to statistics from the “K-12 School Shooting Database,” there were 352 school shooting incidents in 2023, reaching a peak and slightly declining in the past two years. In the 1970s and 1980s, such incidents typically numbered less than 30 per year.
Data from the “Learning Policy Institute,” an education research organization, shows that American schools invest approximately $4 billion annually in installing physical security equipment such as metal detectors and surveillance cameras.