HIGH POINT, N.C -- Phoenix Academy leads North Carolina as the first school in the state to adopt a gunshot detection system.
It's one of many upgrades planned to secure schools in the event of an active shooter incident.
"No parent should have to fear sending their child to school and worrying that when their child goes off to school they are not going to come back," said Mayor Jay Wagner of High Point.
Phoenix Academy, a public charter school in High Point, installed the Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System. The system of sensors and software alerts those inside the building and police if there's an active shooter.
"There are advanced algorithms in this acoustic software that knows the very unique signature of a gunshot. We marry that with looking for 'I think I have heard a gunshot I am going to look for that flash. and in sub one seconds, it's picking up the flash and the bang of the gun and it's alerting that way," said Kendra Noonan, the Director of Communications for Shooter Detection Systems.
RELATED | The ASDS uses audio sensors to listen for a gunshot, and then uses infrared sensors to see the flash of the gun.
The school is the first in North Carolina to install this technology and the first in the nation to employ integration that automates the 9-1-1 call with shot location. The system provides first responders with accurate, real-time threat information and simultaneously alerts those in the building to an active shooter situation. Police and teachers will be able to pinpoint the shooter's location in real time.
"When you are worried about where it is coming from and which way to go and what to do that puts a real level of pressure on teachers and so it takes that level off, because if the human factor is in it, there is always chaos and error," said Kim Norcross, the Superintendent of Schools at Phoenix Academy.
"One of the problems that always arises is the fact that communication, specifically communication of accurate information is the most troubling issue that we have as it relates to school shootings," said High Point Police Chief Major Kenneth Shultz. Shultz added that the technology is an added layer of support towards keeping schools safe.
"The safety of our community is always going be a priority and we are pleased that Phoenix Academy has partnered with us with this technology to help us fulfill that mission here."
According to school officials, the system cost about $400,000 in funds provided by school bonds. They said the various city and elected officials, as well as parents and stakeholders, were also fully supportive of the adoption.
Representative John Faircloth who attended the unveiling event said he supports installing this in schools across the state.
Makers of the system say it eliminates what they call the "human from the loop" in order to avoid life-threatening delays in relaying information to or in dispatching first responders to an active shooter incident.
Shooter Detection Systems has over 300 users which include airports, schools, corporations and other venues across the county. The network has logged more than 25 million hours of runtime at these sites and has had zero false alerts when it comes to detecting gunfire and differentiating sounds which are similar.
City and school officials said they are committed to the safety and security of students and their families.
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