Texas Company Proposes Drone Solution for School Safety
In Texas, a company has an idea to use drones with non-lethal tools to stop school shootings.
Justin Marston, who leads Campus Guardian Angel, started the company after a tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. That terrible event in May 2022 took 21 lives. “We have seen how effective drones could be against people armed with guns,” Marston said in an interview. “I’d been thinking about this for several years as a way to try and help stop things like Uvalde in the future.”
Right now, they haven’t signed contracts, but they’ve tested their drones with a school and police in Boerne, Texas. The plan is simple: a drone waits at a school, ready to act if a shooter is spotted. The team, based at headquarters, will fly the drone to the danger spot and release non-lethal tools to stop the threat.
We believe that safety should always be a top priority.
The process starts when they get notified of a problem, maybe through tech or an app. They’ll check the school’s cameras to see if the threat is real before launching the drone. Then, they find the shooter and use the drone until the threat is gone or contained. Marston thinks these drones can help protect people until the police arrive. They can even work with officers, like opening doors so drones can go inside first.
Here’s what the drones might carry:
– Flash-bang grenades: Make a loud noise, not harmful.
– Pepper spray: Sends out an irritating cloud.
These tools are legal under federal law because they’re not considered dangerous weapons. The FAA doesn’t control indoor drone flights, so that’s one less worry. Even so, they’re talking to the FAA to ensure all rules are followed. They also want to meet Texas laws on drones.
A bill in Texas, House Bill 462, talks about using drones in schools instead of hiring armed guards. This isn’t needed for Campus Guardian Angel’s plans, but it might help with funding. Marston admits there are legal questions about using drones in schools. They’re working on contracts and figuring out who’s responsible for the drones’ actions.
Marston believes drones can save precious minutes during an attack, and those minutes matter. “In these school shootings, most of the death happens in the first 120 seconds,” he pointed out. He thinks drones could really make a difference in keeping people safe.
