SEMINOLE COUNTY, Florida. – News 6 learns it was more than a clarinet that put a Seminole County middle school closed earlier this month.
On December 9, police rushed to Lawton Chiles Middle School after an AI weapons detection system spotted a student with what looked like a gun. When officers examined security cameras, they noticed the suspected weapon was a musical instrument.
A police report obtained by News 6 Thursday reveals more details about why law enforcement was concerned about a possible threat. The boy seen on school security cameras holding the clarinet “in a shouldered gun position” was also dressed in camouflage and wearing a tactical vest. The student was apparently dressed in a military-style costume as part of a themed dress-up day at the school, according to the report.
“It wasn’t a kid in street clothes,” said Kylee Ciullo, a parent who contacted News 6. “It was a kid in what the kids tell me was military gear.”
(WATCH: Seminole County Unveils New Weapon Detection System for Oviedo High School)
Kylee Ciullo told our News 6 team she appreciated the information sent to parents quickly about the lockdown, but she thinks the district could be more transparent.
A spokesperson echoed the message sent by the school administration to families regarding the confinement, which mentioned “a student holding a musical instrument as if it were a weapon”, but did not mention anything about what he was carrying.
“This information was not disclosed to the parents,” Ciullo said. “Because of that, the community as a whole has no idea what happened. And everyone jokes that the system didn’t work, joking that ‘oh my God, if someone has a snorkel, everything is going to stop.’ I worry that we’re not telling parents or the community that ZeroEyes did its job.
News 6 reported Use of ZeroEyes Technology in Seminole County Public Schools and other districts in central Florida.
In August, Volusia County law enforcement explained how it works. The system uses artificial intelligence to scan live video feeds for objects that resemble weapons. When a potential weapon is spotted, footage is then sent to company headquarters, where a real person checks to see if the weapon is real.
(WATCH: Volusia County uses AI to detect guns on school campuses)
Capt. Todd Smith of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office called it “state-of-the-art technology.”
“We’re always keeping our foot on the gas, trying to make sure our kids are safe, and we’re doing everything we can to keep them safe,” Smith said in August.
The technology has become increasingly popular, but not without its errors. Baltimore body camera video shows police confronting student with suspected weapon in October. What the AI reported as a gun turned out to be a bag of chips.
Ciullo said she believes in the technology and hopes the district will be more transparent about what happened and why.
“I’m already seeing articles where people are asking why we have ZeroEyes, why we’re spending money, why we’re prioritizing it, and that’s why I’m concerned,” Ciullo said. “What happened was serious enough that a professional would think the school should be closed. »
According to the police report on the incident at Lawton Chiles Middle School, dispatch informed responding officers that, upon further review of the school’s security cameras, the suspected weapon was likely an instrument.
News 6 reached out to SCPS to ask if they thought the technology worked as intended in this case. Ciullo shared the response she received from the superintendent that the security system worked as designed. It also says communications sent to families followed district protocols.
You can read the message sent to families on December 9 below:
Dear Chiles College families, students and staff,
I wanted to send a follow-up and share with you what prompted the Code Red brief on our campus. As you know, we have several layers of security in schools, including an automated system that detects potential threats. A student was walking down the hallway, holding a musical instrument as if it were a weapon, which triggered the Code Red to be activated. Even if there was no threat to the campus, I would like to ask you to speak with your student about the dangers of pretending to have a weapon on a school campus.
We are grateful for the quick response of our law enforcement partners, as well as our students and staff, who followed our safety protocols.
As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
Dr Laudani
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