AUSTIN, Texas — Mass shootings have plagued schools and left school districts, state lawmakers and advocates on a hunt for the best solution to protect campuses. One company in Austin said it’s on track to hopefully provide one option using drone technology.
Justin Marston is the CEO and founder of Campus Guardian Angel, which uses drones that can help respond within seconds to an active or potential threat.
Marston and his team gave KVUE a demonstration at Pease Elementary School, where they had a person act as a shooter on the campus and deployed the drones.
How it works is professional pilots operate the drones remotely and track the threat – for example, an active shooter – to lead law enforcement to it. The drones also disperse pepper spray and flash bangs.
The idea is to buy time for law enforcement.
“If we could put drones like this everywhere, just like you have school sprinkler systems, we could get there in seconds and we could help save lives,” Marston said.
The drones would be on site at the school and managed by a response service team at an operations center. Marston said Campus Guardian Angel is currently building several offices throughout Austin, which would also use real-time visuals and communication with law enforcement.
Marston added that response times are critical, and the company’s goal is for the drones to respond within five seconds and be on the shooter in 15 seconds.
Currently, Marston said Campus Guardian Angel is doing demonstrations throughout Texas school districts, with Boerne ISD becoming the first to do a month-long test run. The goal is to have drones in private schools by July and in public schools by November if Texas legislation allows for their implementation for schools.
Marston pointed to a bill in the Texas House, House Bill 462, which falls in line with school security.
Eanes ISD Police Chief Matt Greer said the district is open to the test-run and said any increase in funding for school safety is useful.
“Any time that we’re introduced to some new available technology, we want to investigate and see what it is and whether or not it might be useful for our district and to keep our kids safe,” Greer said.
As for students who could benefit, Kayla Sigue, a student in Leander ISD, said she welcomes any extra layer of protection to disarm any threat that comes onto campus.
“I’ve been in countless student threats, violence and school shooting drills and, in each one of those situations, I have been absolutely terrified,” Sigue said. “I believe that we need proactive and deliberate technology that will help to prevent … any school shooter from entering the school and possibly hurting one of my peers.”