Saviors in the sky? Campus Guardian Angel thinking outside the box to help defend against school shootings

Source: https://www.kark.com/news/special-reports/saviors-in-the-sky-campus-guardian-angel-thinking-outside-the-box-to-help-defend-against-school-shootings/

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – One of a parent’s worst fears: losing their child in a school shooting. Campus Guardian Angel is hoping to be on the frontlines of making sure children are protected, with new technology leading the way.

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It’s become all too common; lives are changed, and even worse, some have ended in the blink of an eye.

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New developments give some hope that brighter days may be ahead, or perhaps flying through the halls?

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That’s the prayer for Sophia Pemble, who’s been through something nobody ever wants to experience.

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“I was a freshman when the shooting happened,” Pemble said. “ I heard three gunshots, and I saw a wave of kids starting to run back, screaming that someone had a gun.”

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Pemble was just 15 when she survived a school shooting that killed 17.

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“So, everyone would always be like, oh, like the Parkland bubble, it’s like their little bubble. Nothing bad could ever happen,” Pemble said.

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She says Marjory Stoneman Douglas always felt safe until that day, Valentine’s Day 2018.

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“In a way, it kind of felt like that was just crumbling and burning down,” Pemble said.

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In just 2025 alone, more than 30 people lost their lives in a school shooting.

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What if drones could help defend against them?

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That is the mission of Justin Marston and Bill King with Campus Guardian Angel.

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“What we’re trying to build is a secure indoor fast-moving drone with less lethal effects, Marston said.

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The company builds drones that aren’t deadly but still pack a punch.

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The drones, although they may seem small, are loaded with features.

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Pepper spray, sirens, two-way communication, and straight brute force are all capable with these drones.

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​”When you see it live, it is like we invented electricity,” Marston said.

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The drones are flown remotely out of Austin, Texas, by the best of the best.

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“The kind of Tom Cruise mavericks of racing drones,” Marston said.

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National champion drone pilots overseen by military veterans with decades of experience.

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A combo that makes these drones befitting of their name, according to Bill King, who was retired, but this project brought him out of it.

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“When three drones come hauling a** around the corner, and you’re the role player, you’re like, hmm, I’m not really sure I’m going to be able to get away from three drones,” King said.

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It may seem a bit out of the ordinary, but the former Navy SEAL for over three decades doesn’t think so.

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“I’d probably say on one hand, it feels like a left-field idea. On the other hand, it’s been right in front of everybody’s face the whole time,” King said.

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So far, the reception from demos held across the country has been positive.

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​”Overwhelming support for giving every child an air force to help defend them from lunatics with guns,” Marston said.

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With the threat being life or death, the team has been moving quickly, with schools already beginning to implement the drones in Florida and Texas, and holding a demo in Conway, Arkansas, in late November, with hopes of coming here soon.

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“Like, we don’t have time. You know, someone else can work on that. We are going to solve the problem the best way we can solve it right now,” King said.

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It’s a project that has gripped the founders unlike any other.

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The company alone doesn’t expect to be the whole solution to school shootings — but they are hopeful they can be a tool that helps come closer to finding it.

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“To know that we could eradicate mass shootings gets you out of bed in the morning,” Marston said.

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Pemble keeps up with a lot of projects aimed to learn from experiences like her own, and makes changes to protect kids from ever going through what she did.

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“There’s unfortunately nothing you can do to change the past. But I’m just glad that people are at least using these things to help and create more things to keep people safe,” Pemble said.

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She hopes that the solution keeps more students from losing friends as she did.

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Her friend, Gina Montalto, was among the 17 who died from the shooting.

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“So we would pass each other, and she would always wave and smile at me, and she did that that morning…that was the last time I saw her,” Pemble said.

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Campus Guardian Angel says they’re continuing to talk with Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office, and that significant progress is being made with lawmakers to bring these drones here, and hopefully for them soon.

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“What can we do in the next few years to make all of the children in Arkansas safer? This is something we can do,” Marston said.

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