Chris Myers, a school resource officer in Davis County, Indiana, participated in an augmented reality training simulator. The simulation run by Christian Carrillo for the Inveris training solution puts Myers in a realistic school shooting scene. Meg Anderson/NPR Closed Subtitles
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On a sunny day in the Texas Vines, the heads of three drones balancing dummies on the pedestal are buzzing. This is part of a demonstration outside the National School Security Conference.
“We used drones to stop the school shooting,” said Justin Marston, CEO of the company’s campus guardian angel, which sells drones. In the event of a shooting, the long-range pilot will fly the drone, which is located in the shooter. They shoot pepper balls, knocking the drone into the shooter, making them weak.
This technology is an example of a long list of products schools can buy to stop shooters.
According to more than 400 school shootings since Columbine in 1999. Washington Post. The latest was last month when a former student opened fire at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. Two students were killed and at least 18 were injured.
In the wake of these shootings, an industry has emerged to try to protect schools – the business is booming. According to market research firm Omdia, the school safety industry is worth up to $4 billion and is expected to continue to grow.
The company's Campus Guardian Angels test dummy is ready to hold a demonstration at the National School Safety Conference in Grapevine, Texas. Drones are the answer for companies to stop school shooters. Meg Anderson/NPR Closed Subtitles
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“The safety and security industry for schools has been growing rapidly over the past decade,” said Sonali Rajan, senior director of research at Everytown for Gun Safety. “The challenge is that these school safety products, the vast majority, have absolutely no evidence to guide their effectiveness.”
What to sell
In school safety meetings, suppliers showcase panic buttons, ammunition-resistant boards, facial recognition technology, training simulators, body armor, guns, guns and tasers in the expo hall.
Tom McDermott, along with metal detector maker Ceia USA, said the school was once a small part of its U.S. business. Now they are the majority.
“This is not right. We need to solve this problem. It's good for the business, but we don't need to sell it to schools,” McDermott said.
Sam Medical's sales manager Sarah McNeeley is selling trauma kits that include tourniquets, coagulated agents and chest seals. She said their clients are traditionally EMT, fire department and military medical staff, but more and more school districts are coming.
“It's essential to prepare and have these devices in school,” she said. “Some people want to put their heads on the beach and pretend they won't happen to them.”
Guns sit on display stand at the National School Safety Conference in Grapevine, Texas. School resource officials sworn in the school are usually armed, with several gun manufacturers attending the meeting. Meg Anderson/NPR Closed Subtitles
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The fair is only part of the conference and is organized by the National Association of School Resources Officials (Nasro). The team also trained police officers at the school in a variety of topics, including how to work with children who have experienced trauma and how to intervene before violence occurs.
Sarah Mendoza, a school resource officer in Yoakum, Texas, attended the meeting and he said she found that the aspect made the most sense.
“I'm just sitting there, I talk to them, I listen,” she said of working with students. “My connection with the kids is very important because they're the guys who are coming to tell me, 'Hey Mendoza, that's what's happening. Can you help us?” or “Hey Mendoza, that's how I feel today.”
Nasro executive director and former police officer Mo Canady said school resource officials were one of the most challenging policing roles.
“We asked a lot of that officer. We wanted them to be the best tactical people their department could provide,” Canada said. “We asked them to be the best informal counselors.”
But when the shooting happened, he said school resource personnel needed any tools they could get.
What can prevent school shootings
Simple things like locking doors can make a difference, gun violence experts say. Authorities say many lives were saved in Minneapolis last month. But locked doors don't necessarily prevent shooting.
Investing in school communities that promote cultures of emotional support and trust, as well as strong mental health services is key to preventing gun violence, as most school shooters are current or former students and are suicide, researchers say.
Jillian Peterson, who leads the Center for Research on the Violence Prevention Program at Hamlin University, interviews people who planned to shoot but did not do it. She said they often have two key reasons for changing their minds: the first is that they have difficulty getting a gun, which is why a safe storage law is crucial.
Another is someone helping a young man find hope in a crisis.
“We’re spending billions of dollars and that money could go to mental health or counselors, and that’s everything we know,” Peterson said.
She said that despite this, she understood the charm of an incomprehensible school.
“I think it's the worst fear of people,” she said. “If you tell me this might save my child's life? Of course I want that.”
She said trying to buy safety feels very American, like a school shooting.