It wasn’t a flaw in the AI, but a flaw in camera placement that prevented a gun detection system from working during a fatal school shooting in Nashville.

It wasn’t a flaw in the artificial intelligence, but a flaw in camera placement that prevented a gun detection system from working during a fatal school shooting in Nashville.

The details of how this technological safeguard failed are now coming to light... Continue reading here ▶

A system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect guns in Nashville public schools failed to spot the gun used in a recent fatal shooting at Antioch High School.

The system, called Omnilert, didn’t see the gun because of where the school’s security cameras were located.

However, the system did activate when police officers arrived and pulled out their own guns, according to a school spokesperson.

The school district spent over $1 million to install this system in all public schools after approving it in February 2023.

The school district’s director said that no system is perfect and can catch everything.

Omnilert’s website says it connects to existing security cameras and uses AI to find “gun threats” and quickly alert people.

Omnilert’s CEO said they are very saddened by the shooting. He confirmed their system is used in Nashville schools, but in this case, the shooter and the gun were not in view of the cameras, so the system couldn’t detect it.

He emphasized that the system could recognize the gun, but it simply wasn’t visible to the cameras.

The shooting, which happened on Wednesday, January 22nd, killed 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante and injured another student. The shooter, 17-year-old Solomon Henderson, shot people in the school cafeteria before killing himself.

Police are looking into online writings and social media posts connected to Henderson to figure out why he did this. They also found that the 9mm pistol he used was bought in Arizona in 2022 and was not reported stolen. They are continuing to investigate how he obtained the gun.

Corea Escalante is remembered by her family as a kind and loving girl who played soccer and did well in school.