28/07/2026 19:01 - Internacionales
In the face of increasing gun violence in US educational institutions, an innovative system seeks to change the rules of the game. According to reports from La Nacion and Infobae, at least nine schools across Florida, Georgia, and Colorado are launching an aerial non-lethal system funded with over USD 1.1 million.
For those unfamiliar with the US, it is crucial to understand that school shootings are a deeply rooted issue. The initiative arose after the tragic Uvalde, Texas massacre in 2022, where 19 students and two teachers died while police waited outside. Justin Marston, founder of Mithril Defense, observed the use of drones in the Russia-Ukraine war and envisioned a non-lethal version that could save lives during the critical first 120 seconds of a shooting.
Since the infamous Columbine High School attack in 1999 (a landmark event in US school violence), nearly 400,000 students have experienced gun violence situations, with 435 school shootings recorded by The Washington Post.
Developed by Mithril Defense, an Austin, Texas-based company, these plastic drones are stored in charging bases distributed across building ceilings. Each school will have between 30 and 60 aircraft, depending on its size. In an emergency, teachers can activate them via a mobile app or panic buttons. From control centers potentially hundreds of miles away, remote pilots—former Navy SEALs, SWAT operators, and elite drone racing pilots—steer the aircraft toward the target.
| State | Participating Schools | Investment |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | Deltona High School, Boyd H. Anderson High School, Godby High School | USD 1.1 million (over two years) |
| Georgia | Coffee HS, Gainesville HS, River Ridge HS, Troup County HS, Statesboro HS | USD 550,000 (pilot program 2026-2027) |
| Colorado | John Adams Academy (Sterling Ranch) | Self-funded |
School safety experts fear that, in the event of a false alarm, the drones might confuse a fleeing student or a police officer with the attacker. 'It's almost like mixing video games and school safety,' warned Curtiss Lavarello of the School Safety Advocacy Council.
Meanwhile, activists and shooting survivors, such as Jaclyn Corin (a survivor of the 2018 Parkland, Florida shooting, another tragic milestone in US history), prefer budgets to be allocated to preventing gun violence rather than reactive technologies. However, for parents like Nicole Lawrence, the opportunity is worth it: 'I've spent $100,000 on worse things,' she commented.
As Florida evaluates the impact of these devices and surveys the educational community, the debate over the best way to protect students remains open. Nevertheless, this technology aims to ensure that the first minutes of an emergency are not synonymous with tragedy.
Alfredo S. Quiroga
