NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Antioch High School has brought in a new AI security system following Wednesday’s school shooting that led to the death of a 16-year-old student.
However, some Antioch parents have called for the installation of metal detectors.
“The number one thing right now is protecting our children,” godmother of an Antioch High School student, Kourtney Owens, said.
Owens started a petition calling for the required installation of metal detectors in schools across the United States. At the time of this writing, the petition has just over 2,100 signatures.
“We do it for football games, we do it for concerts — any big event, there are metal detectors there,” Owens said. “Why isn’t [it in] a place that has our children? Why isn’t that?”
Since 2023, the school used an AI system that alerts staff and police if a surveillance camera shows someone holding a gun. It failed to detect the gun used in last week’s shooting. On Tuesday, the district will roll out a new AI weapons detection system called Evolv at Antioch High School.
The company told News 2 its technology is an AI replacement for metal detectors. According to the company’s website, the technology locates guns, knives and bombs on people as they enter a building, reducing “the need for overly invasive and manual top-to-bottom searches.”
When someone is found carrying a suspicious item, the system alerts the operator. The connected Evolv tablet displays an image of the individual and places a “Red Box” on the location(s) of the potential threat.
“Antioch High will serve as a critical testing ground for this advanced technology, allowing us to assess its effectiveness as we explore funding opportunities to expand its use across more schools,” Metro Nashville Public Schools superintendent, Dr. Adrienne Battle, said in a statement.
Owens told News 2 AI isn’t a viable solution.
“We just saw in real time what that looks like and it doesn’t work,” Owens said.
Last year, this system was the center of a class action lawsuit that claimed the company lied about the effectiveness of its AI-powered weapons detection scanners.
“Evolv cannot comment on any pending litigation,” Evolv told News 2 in response to the allegations. “We stand behind our technology and are proud to partner with hundreds of security professionals around the world.”
Evolv’s scanners have been used at Nissan Stadium, Bridgestone Arena, Clarksville-Montgomery Schools and Rutherford County Schools. According to Evolv, in 2023, over 400,000 weapons were tagged by Evolv customers.
“I am big on security technology, huge help, but don’t become over-reliant on that in terms of putting that in place and thinking you don’t have to do anything else,” An executive director with The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), Mo Canady said. “The human element is still a critical, critical part of this.”
Canady told News 2 the effectiveness of security technology relies on the school’s response.
“If there aren’t good policies and procedures around it [security technology], we may wind up unintentionally creating a false sense of security,” Canady explained.
Canady advised further discussion before making any final decisions.
