Drone technology that assists responders to school shootings is set to be trialed in Florida.
The Campus Guardian Angel is a Texas-based system that while supporting the police and other responders. A trial will be rolled out in three Florida school districts after approval from Governor Ron DeSantis.
Newsweek contacted the governor’s office for more information on the policy via email for this story.
Drones Can Be Deployed Within Five Seconds
With more than 60 school shooting incidents reported in Florida alone since 2018, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, educators and lawmakers have urgently sought innovative approaches to school safety. The introduction of attack drones, designed to respond to active shooter threats in seconds, aims to address the crucial window in which most fatalities occur and could represent a major shift in school security across the U.S.
The drones, stored in secure boxes on campus, can be deployed within five seconds of silent panic buttons being activated. The devices—operated remotely by a team in Texas—provide constant live video feeds to first responders and, in some cases, fire nonlethal projectiles to delay or incapacitate an assailant.
The team in Texas consists of a pilot, who mans the drone, tactical experts who coordinate movement through the school and make decisions on engagement, and liaisons who relay live information to local law enforcement during the response.
