Arkansas school district to use AI cameras to monitor students for weapons

Arkansas school district to use AI cameras to monitor students for weapons



A school district in Arkansas will utilize over 1,500 cameras at schools and administration buildings to monitor students for possible threats in an effort to increase school safety.

The Fort Smith Public School district explained that after partnering with a company called ZeroEyes, it would use artificial intelligence-based weapon detection cameras starting in the 2024-2025 school year.

The district's Deputy Superintendent Martin Mahan said that the AI software will first be used on existing surveillance cameras that are outside school buildings and placed in strategic locations on campus, 40/29 reported. The video footage is instantly fed through the AI software, which detects objects wielded by individuals, such as guns. If a weapon is detected, the AI immediately alerts the system user.

"Our bigger footprint in districts, schools, and even some of our smaller schools will have some of the camera systems inside because the unique capacity of this camera system is it will continue to track the threat and it will give us locations exactly where to pinpoint the threat," Mahan said. "Unfortunately, in these types of events, seconds are lives. So anything we can add that gains us seconds for our students and staff is another level of threat mitigation."

The new weapon detection system will cost the school district approximately $156,000 per year for each of the next six years. The financing will come from existing operating budget funds, but the district hopes to be awarded grants to cover some of the costs.

Perhaps an area of concern, the superintendent noted that the system would not be monitored by school or district officials but rather by a third party.

"It's going to work with our existing cameras, and the the actual weapons detection systems will be monitored by a third party, so there's no staffing requirement for us," Mahan continued.

ZeroEyes said that the surveillance footage is analyzed in real time to identify a possible threat.

"That video will be sent in for analysis to a group of trained individuals with law enforcement background, military background; they will assess it and immediately determine if it is a real threat to our staffers and students and notify us immediately," Mahan explained.

The company's website described its system as one that delivers a "proactive, human-verified visual gun detection and situational awareness solution that integrates into existing digital security cameras to stop mass shootings and gun-related violence."

The company said it was developed by a team of Navy SEALs following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting.

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Tennessee Democrats who exploited Nashville massacre to push for gun control voted against bipartisan bill to make schools safer



After a transsexual radical massacred six Christians at the Covenant School on March 27, Republican Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee lawmakers took swift action to advance legislation that would boost funding and harden security at schools in the state.

HB 322 passed both the state House with a bipartisan 95-4 vote on April 6 and the Senate on April 13 with a unanimous 33-0 vote. Lee is set to sign it into law.

The three Democrats who used the shooting as a springboard for their gun control agenda and media tour did not, however, support the legislation.

Despite having expressed concern over school shootings and invoking the memory of the slain children, Democratic state Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville, Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, and Justin Pearson of Memphis ultimately voted against the school safety bill.

The Tennessean reported that the bill would require schools to:

  • lock exterior doors while students are present;
  • conduct annual incident command bus safety drills, extra to the already required armed intruder drills; and
  • install classroom door locks and secure visitor entry vestibules.

In addition to hardening structural security, the bill would require school districts to ensure staff and experts have the wherewithal required in the event of an emergency. Accordingly, districts must have a threat assessment team and ensure that private security guards undergo annual active shooting training.

Districts will also have to annually provide up-to-date safety plans, floor plans, and security systems access to state and local law enforcement to optimize alignment and interoperability.

While not all of the requirements extend to public charter schools, private schools, and church-related schools, they too will have to ensure that exterior doors are locked, relevant drills are routinely conducted, security guards are trained up, and safety plans are in place.

"While it may not be the full solution to the danger and violence we see in the world, it is certainly a step forward," said House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R).

The three Democrats temporarily expelled from the House — for staging what Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) called an "insurrection" — opposed HB 322, as it did not satisfy their desire to infringe upon Americans' Second Amendment rights or stop access to "weapons of war."

"We don’t want gun battles at our schoolhouse door," Johnson said. "We want our kids to be safe, and to feel safe."

Pearson likened hardening security at schools to making them "more like prisons."

Jones, who has had multiple run-ins with the law, suggested that the addition of more police officers and security at schools was troubling, calling HB 322 a false solution and a "white flag of surrender."

\u201cThe TN House is hearing HB 0322 to add more police officer\u2019s to schools as a response to mass shootings and @brotherjones_ calls on the house to listen to the thousands of young people outside and take real action! #NoActionNoPeace\u201d
— A is for Afro (@A is for Afro) 1680794466

Jones added, "This is an optical spectacle decision to offer these false solutions. You want exposure when we are saying we want you to do something. This is a very political, calculated decision."

Republican Rep. Scott Campbell intimated that Jones and his two comrades were guilty of what they accused the bill's supporters of, saying, "If you want to talk about playing to the cameras, that’s what just occurred."

Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris praised the trio, suggesting that their expulsion was racially motivated and calling their "insurrection" courageous, reported the Guardian.

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'That's what happens': Police officer neutralizes man who 'aggressively' tried to enter elementary school



Police shot and killed a man who was purportedly "aggressively" trying to enter an elementary school in eastern Alabama.

The incident came just two weeks after 21 people — 19 students and two teachers — were murdered in Uvalde, Texas, when a teenage gunman entered an elementary school and went on a shooting rampage.

What happened?

Etowah County Sheriff Jonathon Horton said that a man, identified as 32-year-old Robert Tyler White, arrived at Walnut Park Elementary in Gadsden, Alabama, around 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning.

According to Gadsden City Schools superintendent Tony Reddick, White "aggressively" attempted to enter the school, checking several doors to see if they were unlocked. His suspicious activity prompted a lockdown. Several dozen students were at the school at the time.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in statement that White then attempted to enter a vehicle belonging to the school resource officer, which triggered an altercation with the officer. At some point, White allegedly attempted to take the officer's weapon.

The altercation ended with White being shot and killed.

"An individual was attempting to make forcible entry into a marked Rainbow City patrol vehicle at which point a School Resource Officer (SRO) with the Rainbow City Police Department attempted to stop the subject," the ALEA statement said, WIAT-TV reported. "The subject resisted and attempted to take the officer’s firearm."

White never made entry into the school. Police have not said if he was armed. No students were harmed in the incident.

Man trying to 'aggressively' enter Gadsden elementary school shot and killed by police www.youtube.com

Horton later told media that while he hates that someone lost their life, "that's what happens" when someone acts as White allegedly did.

"We put a lot into our schools in this county, and you hate to see anyone lose their life, but that's what happens when people try to do things to hurt our kids. At least it ended in the front yard and everybody, the staff, and students are safe. The officers are safe," Horton said.

Reddick said the students fortunately were mostly unaware of the incident. He explained they had been practicing school safety this week, so they believed the incident was just another drill.

The school resource officer received minor injuries in the incident but is expected to recover.

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Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott says school massacre made him afraid to have kids



Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott said Wednesday that the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Texas has made him "fearful to have children."

Prescott and other members of the NFL team reacted to the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were slain by a disturbed gunman on Tuesday.

“I don’t know how something like that doesn’t impact everyone, I don’t care if you’re an athlete or not,” Prescott told reporters after practice. "We're talking about children. We're talking about the future. I mean, I don't have kids and can't imagine having to send my kid to school with that anxiety. Honestly, it makes me fearful to have children, and that's not right. That's sad."

He spoke hours ahead of a town hall meeting in Arlington put on by his Faith Fight Finish Foundation. The event, scheduled before the shooting happened, brought North Texas community groups together with law enforcement leaders, education leaders, and mental health experts to discuss ways in which they can work together to improve the community.

Prescott said there was a lot to discuss after the Uvalde shooting, as well as the shooting in Buffalo, New York, two weeks ago where 10 people were killed by a self-described white supremacist.

"If yesterday and two weeks ago and all of what we've been through hasn't been a call for each and every one of us for help, for our neighborhood and what's going on with them individually and how we're protecting, policing and serving one another throughout our community, something has to be done and a change has to happen now," Prescott said.

His teammate, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, added that communities need to come together to make schools safter.

"It's very hard. It's nerve wracking," Lawrence said. "Every time I have chance to go in the locker room, I hit up my wife. 'How are the kids? Are they home yet?' It's something you wouldn't expect. But this is what we are dealing with."

He elaborated on a social media post he made Tuesday asking how he financially supports schools that need "better security systems, security personnel and security training."

"This is all of us. All of us are going to have to step in," he said. "Make sure we are builder a safer work space, safer environment for us to grow in."

Other NFL players are stepping up in the wake of tragedy. The Buffalo Bills and the NFL have pledged to contribute $400,000 to Buffalo's East Side neighborhood and community, where the shooting took place.

Schumer blocks bipartisan school safety bill in Senate after deadly shooting



Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) blocked a school safety bill introduced by Republicans but supported by members of both parties hours after chastising the GOP for allegedly doing nothing to prevent gun violence in schools.

Following Tuesday's deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two adults were horrifically murdered by a disturbed gunman, Democrats have clamored for new gun control laws and accused Republicans of being complicit in the murder of children through inaction. But when Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin introduced a school safety bill on Wednesday afternoon, Schumer blocked it.

"GOP Sen. Johnson just tried for a bill that could see more guns in schools—I blocked it," Schumer boasted on Twitter. "The truth: There were officers at the school in Texas. The shooter got past them. We need real solutions."

The Democratic leader was referring to reports that a school police officer at Robb Elementary School exchanged fire with the gunman but was unable to stop him from entering the building and massacring an entire 4th grade classroom. Fox News' Bill Melugin reported that the school officer, as well as three local policemen were injured in the shooting before a Border Patrol officer was able to kill the gunman.

However, the school safety bill Schumer blocked was not legislation that would "see more guns in schools," as the Democratic leader claimed.

Johnson had requested unanimous consent to pass the Luke and Alex School Safety act — a bill that would codify the Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety into law. The clearinghouse is currently available at SchoolSafety.gov and provides parents and educators information and recommendations on best practices to "prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to, and recover from a range of school safety threats, hazards, and emergency situations."

The website is maintained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services. Johnson's bill would create a codified structure for the clearinghouse so it would become a permanent primary resource operated by the federal government to give best practices and recommendations for school safety to state and local school administrators. The bill would require that state and local governments be notified about the availability of this resource for schools.

The Luke and Alex School Safety Act is named for Luke Hoyer and Alex Schachter, two students killed in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Lawmakers in both parties have previously supported the bill, which was unanimously passed out of committee twice.

"There's nothing partisan about this bill whatsoever. It's just a good idea that could save lives," Johnson said in remarks after reintroducing the bill. "It was such a good idea, that under the previous administration, they set up that clearinghouse. It's up and it's operating. So all this bill does at this point is serve as a model for what's happening. All this bill does now is codify it to make sure this clearinghouse stands the test of time – that it will always be there to provide the best practices on school safety."


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Illinois teachers flocking to firearms training courses

Though their state law prohibits guns on campus, Illinois teachers are privately training with firearms, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

“Across the state, businesses have begun offering free concealed-carry training sessions to teachers and school staff members,” the Times reported. One class reached capacity within two hours of posting it, and there is now a waiting list of approximately 40 more educators.  “None of us ever want to have to use our guns,” said teacher and firearms student Julie Smith. “All of us want to protect our kids.”

Despite pushback from the National Gun Victims Action Council, retired police officer Rick Noble, owner of Adventure Tactical Training, said that the educators “all really want this training.”

Gun rights group IllinoisCarry is advocating for a resolution known as the Student Safety and Protection resolution, which would allow teachers who have gone through substantial background checks and have 83 percent shooting accuracy to carry concealed on school property.

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