Appomattox County Public Schools (ACPS) in Virginia is deploying proactive gun detection and intelligent situational awareness technology from Pennsylvania-based ZeroEyes.

The AI-based gun detection video analytics platform holds the US Department of Homeland Security Safety Act Designation. It will be deployed to protect students and faculty against gun-related threats.

Comprising four schools – a primary, elementary, middle and high school – ACPS educates approximately 2500 students annually. With a commitment to fostering a safe and nurturing learning environment for all students, the school has implemented several security measures in recent years. These include assigning individual school resource officers (SROs) to each school, facilitating comprehensive walkthroughs of all facilities by local and state law enforcement, installing exterior door alarms and student computer monitor software, and enhancing its after-hours surveillance system. ZeroEyes will be the latest addition to this multilayered security approach.

“School safety is of the highest priority right now, and to have a technology that could potentially save a life or stop a threat before anything happens made ZeroEyes a no-brainer for us,” said Philip Amos, ACPS (www.acpsweb.net) supervisor of security and technology.

ZeroEyes’ AI gun detection and intelligent situational awareness software layers onto existing digital security cameras. If a gun is identified, images are instantly shared with the ZeroEyes operations centre (ZOC), staffed around the clock by specially trained US military and law enforcement veterans. If these experts determine the threat is valid, they dispatch alerts and actionable intelligence – including visual description, gun type and last known location – to local law enforcement, SROs and ACPS staff as quickly as three to five seconds from detection.

“In the instance of a gun-related threat, first responders and school leadership must receive swift and accurate security communications to help them navigate the potentially deadly situation,” said Mike Lahiff, CEO of ZeroEyes. “We are proud that ZeroEyes has been chosen to provide this type of situational awareness to Appomattox County Public Schools. Their proactive stance against gun violence is truly commendable.”

ZeroEyes (ZeroEyes.com) delivers proactive, human-verified AI gun detection software that integrates into existing digital security cameras and helps mitigate mass shootings and gun-related violence by reducing response times and providing actionable intelligence with images. The ZeroEyes team also provides consulting, installation assistance and practice drills for active shooter events to enhance safety at schools, corporate and government facilities. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company’s gun detection technology has been adopted by the US Department of Defense, public K-12 school districts, colleges, universities, healthcare facilities, commercial property groups, manufacturing plants, Fortune 500 corporate campuses, shopping malls, big-box retail stores and more.