In a bid to expedite emergency response to school shooting incidents, a new pilot program is currently being implemented in some public schools in New York City. For the 2025-26 school year, 25 schools are taking part in this initiative.
On Monday morning (October 27th), New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser jointly launched the nation’s first-ever School Emergency Alert System (EAS) in Brooklyn. This system integrates public schools with 911 services directly, enabling swift responses in the event of a school shooting to potentially save lives.
The EAS provides public schools with an immediate, secure, and automated pathway to report emergencies directly to 911, allowing for prompt action in critical situations such as weapon threats or shooting incidents. Officials mentioned that the EAS can be activated through multiple fixed buttons and wireless lanyards within the school, triggering a 911 response within 10 seconds. Alerts will be directly sent to dispatchers, while the school will be equipped with audio and visual indicators, warning everyone on campus about the emergency and the lockdown.
“Public safety is a prerequisite for prosperity and a key benefit for working-class families. Because our students should feel safe in schools, our parents must know their children are in a secure environment, and our teachers should have the confidence to focus on nurturing young minds,” Adams stated. “This is the first time in the country that the public school system is directly integrated with 911 services, ensuring that in the event of a shooting or weapon threat, first responders can arrive within seconds… This system alleviates parents’ worries about their children’s safety at school.”
According to city data, from 2015 to 2025, there were over 1,900 K-12 school shooting incidents in the United States. In 2023, there was a peak of 351 school shooting cases, followed by 336 incidents in 2024.