AI gun detection system at Antioch High School failed to detect gun during Nashville shooting

An artificial intelligence-powered gun detection system failed to pick up the gun a 17-year-old Nashville student used in a school shooting Wednesday that left a 16-year-old girl dead.

The software, called Omnilert, could not detect the gun because of where the cameras were located inside Antioch High School, Metro Nashville Public Schools spokesman Sean Braisted said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

But the system was activated by police brandishing their weapons during the response to the shooting, Braisted said.

Omnilert connects to the school’s existing network of cameras and uses AI technology to detect weapons, he said, but “in this case, based on the shooter’s location near the cameras, it wasn’t close enough to get an accurate reading and activate that alarm.”

Superintendent of Metro Nashville Public Schools, Adrienne Battle, said, “there is no system that will 100% catch everything that a person might be wearing.”

Omnilert works to transform security cameras “into life-saving tools that protect lives while reducing the operational, legal and social costs of gun violence.” website states. It helps detect firearms and then triggers instant alerts.

“These are designed to capture things that are on camera and so we wanted to have a system that worked on multiple cameras across the network, it works but it’s not going to work in every case, in every location based on where that weapon is can be visible,” Braisted said. “So that’s why we have additional safety and security protocols.”

In addition to Omnilert, the school uses AI systems at the front door, has security vestibules and uses school resource officers.

“It all works together as a system, but one system alone won’t keep people safe,” Braisted said. “And there’s also just the general public’s concerns about how a 17-year-old has a weapon.”

“I think these are issues that are beyond the scope of the Metro Schools, but need to be addressed by the wider community,” he said. “But we are doing what we can as a district to install and equip our schools with the safety protocols and resources that we can use to be safe.”

In the wake of the shooting, some have questioned why the school did not use metal detectors. Battle told reporters Thursday that research has shown there are pros and cons to using the detectors.

“There are lots of unintended consequences, primarily when you think about the types of learning environments we want for our students. I mean, the first person we want our students to interact with is their principals and their teachers and their fellow students, ” she said.

A motive in the shooting is unclear, although Nashville Police Chief John Drake said authorities are looking at “some materials on the Internet” believed to be from the shooter, who was identified as Solomon Henderson. He fatally shot himself after the attack.

Authorities said Henderson was an active student at the school and rode the school bus before later opening fire in the cafeteria, killing Josselin Corea Escalante. Another student was injured when he was grazed in the arm.