New Drone Technology to Combat School Shootings in the USA
"Campus Guardian Angel" is a new drone kit recently acquired by nine U.S. schools. Designed to neutralize shooters within 15 seconds, the drones use pepper spray and high-speed frontal collisions at nearly 100 km/h to stop attackers.
"Campus Guardian Angel" is the name of a new drone kit recently purchased by nine schools in the USA, as reported on Tuesday by the "Washington Post". The unique drone system, developed to respond to shooting incidents, is capable of reaching an attacker within just 15 seconds, neutralizing them through the use of pepper spray and frontal collisions at speeds approaching 100 km/h.
To understand the prevalence and threat of school shootings in the USA, consider the following data: nearly 400,000 American students have been exposed to weapon threats at school since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, where 12 students and a teacher were killed, and 23 were wounded. Since that year, at least 435 shooting incidents have been documented in American schools.
The system is activated by teachers pressing a "distress button" in a dedicated application. Immediately, professional drone pilots at the company's operations center take remote control of the system to reach the shooter within 15 seconds. The drones are designed to penetrate the shooter's location through glass, aiming for contact at speeds of approximately 100 km/h. Simultaneously, the drones activate sirens and high-intensity strobe lights.
Alongside the hope this technology brings, the project has sparked significant controversy. Security experts and organizations representing survivors of shooting incidents warn that this may be a dangerous solution:
"The main concern is that during a chaotic event, the pilot might make a mistake and hit a fleeing student or a police officer."
