Emergency buttons and mobile notifications: Technological measures that averted additional violence at Apalachee
The educator teaching social studies wasmid lesson when his smartboard signaled a "hard lockdown" at the school.
"I could sense something serious was about to occur," shared Kreyenbuhl. He ushered everyone to a secluded corner, switched off the lights, and simply requested everyone to stay put, assuring them, "Just wait for everything to unfold, then everything will pass."
Kreyenbuhl appreciated the swift response of the school's resource officer just minutes after the gunshots rang out, which was mere steps away from their classroom.
The CrisisAlert system, a Centegix creation, boasts a compact device similar to an ID badge. It features a rapid press button apt to surreptitiously notify school administrators and local law enforcement about a crisis's exact location.
To integrate this system seamlessly into current safety protocols and automated processes, Centegix collaborates with school districts and local enforcement agencies.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith shared with CNN that the school had partially implemented the system for only a few days and conducted its first test the day prior to the violent incident.
Smith considered this timing as a divine intervention.
Two students and two instructors were fatally injured during the shooting on Wednesday, leaving nine others injured. The latest casualty of yet another deadly school shooting in the United States - remarkably, the 45th - has sparked discussions among experts and law enforcement officials about the role of technology in potentially reducing police response time and preventing further bloodshed.
The Power of Seconds
The Barrow County Fire Department acknowledged receipt of the first alert at 10:22 a.m. via the Centegix system. Their Unit 1 reached the scene eight minutes later, and the emergency response team entered the school at 10:34 a.m.
By 10:52 a.m., all critically wounded individuals were evacuated from the premises - within only 30 minutes of the first alert.
When Centegix was contacted for comment, their spokesperson expressed condolences for the unfolding events at Apalachee High School but declined to share additional insights.
In a previous interview, Brent Cobb, the company's CEO, elaborated on the design of the CrisisAlert technology. Originally developed following the 2018 Parkland high school shooting, it aimed to quickly and discreetly allow teachers and administrators to call for help.
Cobb emphasized the importance of time, stating, "Seconds equal lives." He postulated that prompt communication about the crisis became a necessity.
Once a lockdown is activated, the CrisisAlert system triggers a sequence of responses. A loud warning is broadcast over the intercom system to alert the entire campus. Simultaneously, on-site safety administrators, such as school resource officers, are informed of the emergency location.
In certain districts, the system can also connect with local law enforcement agencies and automatically place calls to 911 while sending precise messages about the crisis location. Case in point, Barrow County.
Cobb emphasized the goal of making police response times swifter, an issue that has garnered criticism in light of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where it took authorities an arduous 77 minutes to intervene effectively.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Smith detailed the sequence of alerts and the comprehensive map his officers used to navigate to the source of the violence. He also commended the "remarkable" school resource officers who confronted the shooter and apprehended him.
"School resource officers,' in the majority of cases, aren't well-aware that they are embarking on a life-threatening mission," said Smith. "They understand that their own lives could be sacrificed ... This is the epitome of what they hope to avoid."
'Alyssa's Law' and Streamlining Police Response Times
Following the loss of her daughter Alyssa during the Parkland shooting, Lori Alhadeff has utilized her grief to campaign for legislative changes.
She championed her organization, Make our Schools Safe, urging state legislatures to adopt "Alyssa's Law," requiring school districts to install silent alert systems directly linked to law enforcement agencies. Seven states, including Florida, New Jersey, and Tennessee, have enacted this legislation in recent years.
Georgia proposed similar legislation last year.
"My heart goes out to the loved ones who lost someone yesterday. I share their pain," Alhadeff told CNN. "I'll now be able to cite the implementation of panic buttons in the Apalachee shooting as proof to sway legislators for the enactment of Alyssa's Law."
She believes that such technology can help reduce the loss of life, as it did at Apalachee High School.
Emergency alert systems have undergone significant modernization since the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, where university officials were criticized for neglecting to promptly notify students and implement safety measures during the shooting rampage, which left 32 individuals dead.
"When we examine the existing data on mass shootings, there's compelling evidence to suggest that these tragedies unfold rapidly," said Jaclyn Schildkraut, executive director of the Rockefeller Institute's Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium.
"Alright, let's discuss ways to extend that time we've got on hand... The quicker you alert individuals, the better, as it offers them extra time to flip the situation in their favor, not just chronologically, but also in terms of distance."
She, however, advised against treating this technology as a one-size-fits-all solution or a replacement for traditional safety drills like emergency response exercises.
"It's all about strategizing these scenarios ahead of time and honing your physical and mental responses to execute them effectively," she explained.
Regrettably, four lives were claimed, and the school along with its staff and students will carry these scars forever. However, Kreyenbuhl expressed gratitude towards the district for implementing a system that enabled him to safeguard his students.
"I was able to perceive the lockdown initiation before the gunshots even rang out, providing me with an opportunity to brace myself," he shared. "Thanks to an alert observer, the threat was identified even before it manifested, giving us a sort of heads-up, a moment of clarity before lives were invariably lost."
"The tech we've got at our fingertips is mind-boggling."
Kreyenbuhl expressed gratitude towards the school district for equipping him with the CrisisAlert system, which allowed him to receive an early warning before the gunshots rang out.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the role of technology in reducing police response times and preventing further bloodshed became a topic of discussion among experts and law enforcement officials.
