On January 22^nd, 2025, 17 year old Solomon Henderson walked into his school’s cafeteria and fired 10 shots in a matter of seconds, ending the life of one student, wounding another and then ultimately taking his own life.

The scene in Antioch, TN is one we’re all too familiar with: despondent student with red flags up the waz all over social media, killing and traumatizing classmates in a place they should be safe all day.

This is not a post about school shootings or student safety. This post is about the AI grift and how companies are preying on terrified parents and officials.

This post is about Omnilert and similar “AI-assisted” security software, software that has been pitched to schools and businesses to help prevent mass shootings, and was installed on security cameras at Antioch High School on the day of the shooting.

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Omnilert, if you’re unfamiliar, uses “AI” to send alerts to police and school officials if the software detects firearms through the school’s existing security cameras. In demo videos, security cameras pointed inside and outside of a building capture individuals walking across the property with a firearm in plain view and a small square “locks on” to the firearm-shaped object, first as an orange square, to denote that the object is an unconfirmed firearm (maybe it’s a piece of building material that happens to look gun-shaped), then turning red and sending alerts via text message that a firearm has been detected.

In the demo videos I’ve watched, it certainly looks slick, but there’s an obvious flaw that anyone with a shred of common sense could readily identify. A flaw Solomon Henderson exploited, whether he knew his school had the Omnilert software installed or not: The “AI” cannot detect concealed firearms.

In the aftermath of the shooting it was discovered that while the school’s security cameras had the Omnilert AI installed, Henderson carried the firearm used in the shooting in his bookbag. He deployed it at the last second before murdering his classmate. According to officials:

"In this instance, based on the location of the shooter and the position of the weapon, it did not activate the system," Metro Nashville Public Schools spokesperson Sean Braisted told The Tennessean.

However, the system did activate when armed police officers entered the campus.

Because the cops had their guns out.

What’s even more tragic: Antioch High School had recently removed magnometers (metal detectors) from its entrances, a move encouraged by Omnilert. Omnilert, in official correspondence with clients, states the magnometers in schools are “traumatizing.”

Another point Omnilert likes to make is the cost savings of installing its AI into existing security cameras. You no longer need to pay for security guards to man the magnometers! Omnilert provides human verification for all its installed systems, which in this capitalist hellscape we all live in, means a guy chainsmoking in Kuala Lumpur is monitoring 15 different systems at a time for 12 hours a day, for literal pennies.

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I’m not saying the average for-hire security guard or school resource officer is much better. There’s a proven track record that cops seldom prevent (or even respond to) school shootings, but at least a human being and a magnometer can pick up a gun in a backpack. Something Omnilert failed to do.

No, Omnilert is trading on fear and political pressure to “do something” about school violence, while at the same time injecting the sexy “built with AI” tagline into garbage tech, all for profit.

Can Omnilert prevent another school shooting? Maybe. Maybe if the “AI” detects the gun as the dipshit shooter is walking across a 100 yard parking lot with the weapon in full public display. And maybe if the burnt out human verifier is paying attention to that particular monitor at the right time. And if the notification gets sent out in a timely manner. And if those receiving the notification react appropriately, in time.

The average person moves across 100 yards, at a leisurely pace, in about 2 minutes. Is that enough time for Omnilert to alert the school and cops? Maybe?

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What I’m saying is, by injecting “AI” into physical security, you’re actually adding additional steps into something that could be done by one person making $13/hr to sit at a door.

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