NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Following Wednesday’s deadly shooting inside Antioch High School, questions have been raised over security measures taken inside Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS).
Addressing the media Thursday, MNPS leaders said there’s no simple solution.
“There’s no foolproof solution for any of this,” MNPS Chief of Communications and Technology, Sean Braisted, said.
MNPS leaders worked to respond to the concerns and address school safety measures. One of the measures called into question was the use of the Omnilert system. The district approved spending $1 million to put 1,300 security cameras that use AI to scan for weapons.
“It’s specifically trying to recognize a person with a gun in their hand,” Omnilert CEO Dave Fraser said in a 2023 interview. “As long as it’s visible, as long as a human being can see it, it picks it up in a fraction of a second.”
The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) has referenced several social media accounts connected to the shooter. In a now-suspended profile on X — formerly Twitter — believed to be linked to 17-year-old Solomon Henderson, a photo of a pistol inside a backpack in what appeared to be a bathroom stall was posted.
The question remains: how was Henderson able to enter Antioch High School with a loaded gun?
“In this instance, based on the shooter’s location in proximity to the cameras, it wasn’t close enough to get an accurate read and to activate that alarm,” Braisted said.
The latest information from the MNPD detailed how Henderson walked into the high school cafeteria and fired a total of 10 shots from a nine-millimeter pistol — all within 17 seconds.
“This gets to some of the other active shooter incidents that have happened in the past where people have approached with assault rifles and other weapons,” Braisted said. “That is one of the measures we take along with shatter-resistant film and other things.”
Parents want MNPS to take more measures to address safety, including possibly adding stationary metal detectors to all Nashville schools. However, during Thursday’s press conference, MNPS superintendent Dr. Adrienne Battle remained cautious.
“There are lots of unintended consequences. Mainly, when you think about the types of learning environments we want for our students,” Battle said. “The first person we want our students to interact with are their principals and their teachers and their fellow students.”
“Our hearts go out to the students, staff, families, and the entire Nashville community affected by this tragic event. Ensuring the safety and well-being of our schools is our top priority. We can confirm that the Omnilert Gun Detect system is deployed at MNPS but the location of the shooter and the firearm meant that the weapon was not visible. This is not a case of the firearm not being recognized by the system. We’re happy to answer more questions about our system but defer to Nashville officials for more specific information about this incident.
To your specific questions, yes we are deployed at hundreds of schools across the country, and additional schools in Tennessee. The technology was developed for commercial use over the last 6 years and actively deployed starting 3 years ago. Yes, it detects guns frequently, and is able to immediately activate additional safety systems and provide rich intelligence to safety staff.
Dave Fraser, the CEO of Omnilert
“There’s lots of data around the tracking behind the metal detector systems,” Battle added. “We also know that there is no system that is 100% going to capture everything that a person may have on them.
