New panic alarm system saved countless lives during shooting, officials, advocates say

Authorities and those who advocate for the technology say a new alarm system that was triggered Wednesday during a deadly shooting at a Georgia high school likely saved countless lives.

Witnesses said classrooms at Apalachee High School were flashing warnings on screens to lock down the school when the shots rang out, prompting students and teachers to lock their doors, turn off the lights and huddle in the farthest corner from the entrance.

At the same time, automatic alerts were sent to law enforcement officers who responded and ended the shooting within minutes, according to Barrow County Sheriff Jude Smith and Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey.

“The protocols at this school and the systems that were put in place today prevented this tragedy from turning into something much worse,” Hosey said at a news conference Wednesday evening.

Teachers at Apalachee High School wear ID badges with their photos and panic buttons that, when pressed multiple times, notify authorities of an “active situation” or emergency at the school, Smith said.

“It was urgent,” the sheriff said.

Stephen Kreyenbuhl, a social studies teacher at Apalachee, said a small button is on the back of the badge. If the button is pressed four times, administrators and school resource officers are notified. If the button is pressed eight times, the sheriff’s office is also notified.

Kreyenbuhl, 26, whose classroom was near the attacker, said the alarm procedure was initiated even before the first shots were heard.

He followed protocol and then prepared to either defend himself and his students with the scissors in his back pocket or die.

“I definitely felt like death was in the room for a second,” he said. “I accepted the fact that I could die.”

Kreyenbuhl, a third-year teacher, said this was the first time the panic button had been activated at the Apalachee school, where classes have been in session since Aug. 1.

Smith said the Apalachee school’s alarm system, developed by Georgia-based security solutions company Centegix, has only been up and running for a week.

As NBC News previously reported, other companies are also offering technologies that purport to streamline the real-time reporting process during crises.

Centegix specifically supports Alyssa’s Law, a measure passed in seven states and introduced in nine others that would require schools to install silent panic alarms directly connected to law enforcement.

The law was named after Alyssa Alhadeff, who was killed in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The 14-year-old was fatally shot as she tried to hide under a desk in class, her mother said.

Since then, Alyssa’s mother, Lori Alhadeff, has been campaigning for improved school security, including the introduction of panic buttons.

“I wish we would never have to use this,” she said. “I wish we never had a school shooting, but I know Alyssa is saving lives. Every time I press that panic button, Alyssa is saving lives.”

Authorities said two students and two teachers were killed and nine people were injured in the attack at Apalachee High School, an hour’s drive from Atlanta.

The students who died in the shooting were identified as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Also killed were math teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.

Smith told NBC News on Thursday that Centegix sent alerts to the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office about an active shooter at Apalachee High School around 10 a.m. Wednesday.

He added that the company also sent authorities the GPS coordinates of the person who triggered the alert.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers were already on campus when the sheriff’s team arrived, Smith said. “When we got there, we basically went into action,” he said.

Smith said that after five or six minutes, school officials confronted the suspect and detained him.

“They were giving him verbal commands. He dropped the gun and got on the ground,” the sheriff said. “They tell me that within six minutes of the first Centegix hit that thing, in a ready state, he was in custody.”

Smith said county officials made the decision to invest in the Centegix system about a year ago, although it was implemented only a week and a half ago.

According to the Centegix website, when a campus-wide alarm is triggered, it “will notify the 911 emergency dispatcher, provide full audiovisual communications, and provide precise location data along with a map that highlights those in need of assistance and their location.”

The technology also has a “staff alert” feature that can be used in the event of a medical emergency or student fight.

In a statement, Centegix CEO Brent Cobb said the company was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy. “We remain committed to promoting a culture of safety in schools and working with our partners in law enforcement and emergency management to protect our communities,” Cobb said.

Smith praised Apalachee leaders for following proper protocols during the chaos. “Yesterday, they followed them to the letter,” he said. “And because we did that, we prevented many, many more deaths.”

Smith said the suspect, Colt Gray, was new to the Barrow County School District. He enrolled about two weeks ago and allegedly opened fire with an AR-style weapon on his “first real full day” of classes, the sheriff said.

“Emotionally it’s hard because I feel like Colt Gray moved here and exploited the system and thought he could get away with it, but he didn’t,” Smith said. “But he’s a bad man who killed some people.”

Federal authorities said the suspect was investigated last year for making threats to shoot up a school over the internet.

He was charged Thursday with four counts of murder and taken to the Gainesville Regional Juvenile Detention Center, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. The bureau said additional charges are expected and the suspect is scheduled to make his first court appearance Friday morning.

Smith said the suspect cooperated with authorities and will be tried as an adult.

The recent school shooting reminds us that in crisis situations, every second counts, said Lori Alhadeff.

According to NBC News, 35 school shootings have resulted in 90 deaths since 2018. The report focuses on those incidents in which an active shooter, with intent to harm, injures or kills at least one student or faculty member at a school or during a school event.

“We never thought this would happen where we lived,” Alhadeff said. “I know that’s every parent’s biggest fear.”

Alhadeff said Alyssa’s Law shortens the time it takes emergency services to arrive.

As of 2019, New Jersey, Florida, New York, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, and Oklahoma have passed the law. Georgia is one of nine states to have enacted it.

“Time equals life,” Alhadeff said. “I know we helped reduce the number of casualties.”