Antioch High School students taking part in metal detection pilot program following school shooting

Students walking through an Evolv Concealed Weapon Detection System (Photo by Evolv)

When 17-year-old Antioch High School student Solomon Henderson opened fire in the school cafeteria last week killing another 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante and himself, the school itself wasn’t completely unprotected.

Josselin Corea Escalante (Photo by MNPS)

Two school resource officers (SRO) were stationed on campus and Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) had previously invested in visitor security checkpoints, shatter resistant film on windows, and an Omni-Alerts Weapons Detection System that uses artificial intelligence in security cameras to detect weapons.

At Tuesday’s MNPS Board of Education meeting, Director Dr. Adrienne Battle explained that because of Henderson’s location and position, Omni-Alerts didn’t detect his 9mm pistol.

“To be clear, even if it had been activated it likely wouldn’t have made a difference as it was it was less than two minutes between the time of the shooter brandished weapon and our police SROs responding to the cafeteria,” said Battle.

In the days following the shooting Dr. Battle faced questions why the school didn’t additionally utilize metal detectors. 

Image of the “Red Box” detection (Photo by MNPS)

This week she made the decision to do just that, launching a pilot program on Tuesday at Antioch High School that utilizes the Evolv Concealed Weapon Detection system.

“Evolv uses advanced technology to enhance security while allowing for a faster and less intrusive entry process. This system is already in use at major events like Nissan Stadium and represents a promising step forward for school safety,” said Battle.

Evolv Head of Education Jill Lemond told board members the technology is currently in place at 1,200 school buildings across the country including 7 other school districts in Tennessee.

Evolv uses smart technology that provide data and analysis as students are walking through a dual lane system that’s designed to enable a natural pace of entry.

When Evolve detects something suspicious it marks it with a red box on an image of the student to help security conduct a physical search.

“That allows for a very pinpointed search of the student, whether it’s on their person themselves or in their belongings. It allows for a little bit of a quicker process when we’re coming in in the morning,” said Lemond. “We’re trying to minimize the invasiveness of the process while still balancing the need for safety and security at the same time.”

Antioch High School is currently the only MNPS school utilizing Evolv technology and that’s a concern for Leland Evans.

Leland Evans addressing the MNPS Board of Education (Screengrab)

He told board members he’s among the more than 2-thousand parents and students who recently signed a petition asking the district to utilize metal detection at all schools.

“As I sat in the back, I couldn’t help but listen to you all talk for over an hour and have heard nothing to make me feel safe as a parent,” said Evans. “My child doesn’t go to Antioch High School, so having a pilot program only at Antioch High School does nothing for me as a parent or any of the other 2 thousand parents, students who have signed this petition saying we want metal detectors at all of our schools.”