A year ago this week, a young gunman entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. and took the lives of 17 people. The Parkland shooting was another in a long, sad list of mass shooting incidents that seems to grow every year.
But Parkland seemed to be an inflection point in the United States’ struggle with gun violence. Much like the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School more than six years ago, the shooting seemed to break through the national consciousness, even if just for a moment, and spur people to turn a critical eye to these types of events and at least attempt to prevent them from happening again.
So what have we learned?
Mass shooting incidents produce stress and chaos, which make it difficult to make good decisions. Despite the fact that Marjory Stoneman Douglas had held active shooter drills just weeks before the shooting, nothing could quite prepare leaders for the actual event. While the actions of some teachers and students have been heralded as heroic and life-saving, the actions (or inactions) of other leaders on the scene have been called into question. At least some of the problems called out included slow response due to confusion over exactly where the shooter was located on the large, complex campus.
That confusion could have been immediately eliminated by automatic gunshot detection and reporting via systems such as Guardian, offered by Shooter Detection Systems. Guardian uses infrared and acoustic sensors to automatically and accurately detect gunfire. Once gunfire is detected, authorities can be instantly notified of exactly where it is located, and other systems can be activated as well, including automatic door locks and alarms.
Several school districts, including districts across Texas, have responded to shootings like Parkland by investing in Guardian as part of facility “hardening” initiatives. Unlike other such initiatives, Guardian is relatively unobtrusive.
Interested in learning more about Guardian? Call (800) 567-1180 for a consultation.