Campus Guardian Angel held a demonstration at Regis Jesuit High School Thursday

Drones to stop school shootings? One Texas company believes the technology is here

Regis Jesuit High School hosted a demonstration of new drone technology in Colorado, meant to stop school shootings before there's mass victims.

‍

Campus Guardian Angel, a drone startup company based in Austin, Texas, designs on-site technology, partnering with local law enforcement to confront and disarm active shooters.

‍

The Thursday demonstration gave local school officials and law enforcement officers and chance to see the drone's capability in action.

‍

Placed throughout a school ahead of time, the company claims its drones are capable of responding to active threats in five seconds and aims to contact the shooter within 15 seconds.

‍

The drones are flown by human pilots and aim to minimize the threat before law enforcement responds directly, saving time and potentially human lives.

‍

Drones can be activated in an emergency by the press of a button, a mobile app, voice cue, 911 calls in the area or if they determine that there is an active threat via monitoring school video cameras.

‍

Upon activation, the drones can confront a shooter in various means including deploying pepper spray, playing loud sounds and even running into the threat at speeds of around 60 mph, knocking them to the ground.

‍

The number of devices in and outside of a school varies by size, but the drones can break through windows if necessary.

‍

Justin Marston, the CEO and founder of Campus Guardian Angel, said the technology could be just as preventative as sprinkler systems in the event of a fire.

‍

“I don't think that there's a true appreciation of the trauma that gun violence is causing in that next generation of kids," Marston said. "They don't feel safe in a learning environment, they take days off from school because they feel, you know, concerned about it.”

‍

The number of shootings in K-12 schools nationally has risen significantly in recent years, according to the K-12 shooting database.

‍

Marston said that if the drones can distract the shooter or get them on the ground faster, law enforcement can get inside faster and remove the threat.

‍

Bill King, chief tactical officer and cofounder, has had more than 32 years of experience in the United States Navy SEAL team, where he conducted various drone operations.

‍

King said that besides the initial response to a shooting, the drones are also being trained to help with the aftermath including flagging those that may need medical care and providing law enforcement a better map of the scene as they move throughout the building.

‍

“We want to be able to shape things in a way that’ll give you guys (law enforcement) the advantages that you need,” he said.

‍

Campus Guardian Angel drones are moving into several school districts in Texas and Florida this year and are expected to be operational by September.

‍

Though no school in the state has yet to adopt the technology, Marston said he hopes to be back in Colorado within the next few months to do more demonstrations at other campuses.

‍

“I think every student, every kid, has a kind of basic human right of an education free from that fear of immediate gun violence,” he said.

‍