Multiple schools across the United States are adopting pepper-spraying drones as part of an emergency response system to address school shooting threats. Campus Guardian Angel, an Austin-based response capability company, is providing the technology to at least eight schools confirmed across Georgia, Florida, and Colorado, with additional installations planned for later this year.
The drones are operated remotely by the company’s response team from thousands of miles away and can be deployed following an alert and threat verification. The systems feature two-way communication capabilities allowing operators to communicate with both school staff and law enforcement, potentially directing officers to suspects or coordinating building clearing operations. Each drone can remain aloft for approximately eight minutes per battery charge and is equipped with multiple tactical features including pepper ball launchers, sirens, air poppers, and frontal lances designed to penetrate windows.
Company leadership attributes the concept to observations of drone effectiveness during the conflict in Ukraine. Bill King, the company’s co-founder and former Navy Seal senior enlisted leader with 32 years of service, and tactical operations director Khristof Oborski, previously with Austin’s Swat unit, described the strategy of deploying multiple drones in coordinated waves to occupy an active shooter until law enforcement can arrive and apprehend the individual.
Georgia has allocated $550,000 in state budget funding for the program, with four schools participating. Florida schools set to install the technology include Deltona high school, which will receive 39 drones for the upcoming school year, along with two additional institutions. Colorado’s John Adams Academy is also preparing to implement the system.
Criticism of the approach exists among school safety advocates and parents affected by past incidents. Tony Montalto, whose daughter was killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting, argued that such reactive measures should not overshadow prevention-focused strategies and policies aimed at reducing gun violence access before incidents occur.
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