Teachers at the scene of this week’s mass school shooting in Georgia frantically pressed wearable panic buttons — part of a new security system activated just last week — to alert local law enforcement.
Officers almost immediately mobilized around Apalachee High School outside of Atlanta — likely preventing the loss of even more life.
“The protocols in this school and this system activated today prevented this from being a much larger tragedy than what we had here today,” said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, at a press conference Wednesday — where officials say hours earlier, 14-year-old student Colt Gray fatally gunned down two students and two teachers.
Apalachee High School teachers who were at the scene of the mass shooting pressed wearable panic buttons — part of a new security system activated just last week — to alert local law enforcement of the shooting. Storyful
The security system had been in place at for about a week, with each teacher and staff member at the school issued an identification badge containing one of the panic buttons.
The instructions were clear: Press it three times for everyday emergencies, such as an injured student or student fist fight. But if there is a campus wide threat, the workers are instructed to press it over and over again.
So when Colt Gray began shooting, the teachers repeatedly pressed the buttons, sparking a cacophony of alerts.
“It alerts us to that there is an active situation at the school for whatever reason, and it was pressed,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters.
Officers quickly got to the scene of Apalachee High School outside of Atlanta — likely preventing the loss of even more lives. Storyful
Some Apalachee teachers later spoke out about the effectiveness of the buttons, which were developed by the Georgia-based safety solutions company Centegix.
Stephen Kreyenbuhl, a social-studies teacher at Apalachee, said emergency procedures at the school had already commenced before he even heard the gunshots.
He holed up with his class and mentally prepared himself to fight back with a pair of scissors that he had in his pocket.
Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news conference Wednesday, “The protocols in this school and this system activated today prevented this from being a much larger tragedy than what we had here today,” CENTEGIX
“I definitely felt like death was in the room for a second,” he told the Washington Post.
“I did accept the fact that I might die.”
School safety advocates are pushing Alyssa’s Law, a measure that has been enacted in seven states.
It would require schools to install silent panic alarms that directly link to law enforcement.
Nine other states are considering passing the measure.
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Publish date : 2024-09-06 10:17:00
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