Company seeks to deploy drones to combat school shootings

(The Hill) - The Campus Guardian Angel is looking to deploy drones tocombat school shootings, running test trials in Florida.

Campus Guardian Angel CEO Justin Marston told The Hill that the system places drones in boxes at various points around a school, activated by an emergency silent alarm and moving within 5 seconds.

The drones are then deployed and controlled by specialists in Texas to stop the shooter by deploying non-lethal projectiles and assisting police with video surveillance.

"If law enforcement is already there, we'll team with them, like giving them close air support, like having a pack of entirely disposable police dogs that are super smart," Marston said.

"We shouldn't risk police lives unnecessarily. We shouldn't put them into incredibly difficult situations where they have to make a lethal targeting decision in fractions of a second. Let us do all of that difficult work, because we don't care if we get shot. We're a lump of plastic. We're entirely disposable," he added.

Pilot programs are taking place in three Florida school districts, which set aside money in the state budget to try the program. Marston said the system costs about $4 per student per month.

In 2024, hundreds of school shootings occurred as educators tried to find ways to combat the tragedies. Tactics such as school shooting drills have beencriticized for scaring studentsand debates about effectiveness have occurred.

Marston said their system has received bipartisan support, with skeptics typically becoming interested after seeing a demonstration of the technology that can break through windows to stop a shooting.

"I think that generally, especially when people see the demonstration, when people see a live demonstration on site ... 95 percent plus of people who see it go through that paradigm shift in that moment, no matter how mentally prepared they were to not like the idea when they came in" they change their minds, Marston said.

"But it comes down to the incredible capabilities of the pilots and what they can do with these drones, how fast they can move, what advantages they bring to law enforcement, how they can reduce the risk of collateral damage," he added.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, visit FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.