New technology developed for active shooter situations in schools

Last month a school shooting left 17 dead in Florida.

Before that, in December of 2012, a shooter killed 27 people at Sandy Hook Elementary.

The tragic shootings are what’s behind a new technology that could possibly save hundreds during an active shooter situation.

“This technology is fairly new. It came out in November of 2017,” said Eagl Technologies representative Andy Pantoja.

Pantoja told ABC-7 the technology was pioneered by the Department of Energy after the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting.

“It’s a system that takes the 911 calls out of people’s hands,” Pantoja said.

Pantoja said it all starts with the Firefly Ballistic Sensor.

“When this goes off, it is because a gunshot went off,” Pantoja said.

The sensor can detect when a gun has been fired and can notify users what type of gun has been fired but it doesn’t stop there.

“The minute it detects a gunshot, within seconds it will notify authorities, is capable of sending text messages to everyone that is programmed into that,” Pantoja said.

Pantoja triggered a simulation and within seconds a text was sent out saying a there has been a gunshot detected along with a picture of the location, where the shot came from and if there’s cameras tied into the system….

“It’ll actually show the cameras and show what is going on with that camera closest to the gunshot,” Pantoja said.

Pantoja told ABC-7 the system is already used in school districts in New Mexico and cities across the U.S.

“They have installed it on light poles and when it detects a gunshot it notifies authorities that a gunshot has been fired giving them a quicker response time,” Pantoja said.

Pantoja said the system is a valuable tool that can hopefully be used more in the future.

“We’re hoping that if it does get installed, it never gets used, but we hope it can save lives wherever people are gathering,” Pantoja said.

Pantoja said the system is 99.99 percent accurate and can cost anywhere from $35,000 – $150,000 per building.

If you are interested in the EAGL system you can view the company’s website here.