Tag: School safety

Police: Ex-grad student kills Arizona professor on campus

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TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arizona has released the name of a professor who authorities said was fatally shot on campus by a former graduate student.

University President Robert Robbins identified the victim late Wednesday as Thomas Meixner, who had headed the school’s Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences.

“This incident is a deep shock to our community, and it is a tragedy,” Robbins said in a statement. “I have no words that can undo it, but I grieve with you for the loss, and I am pained especially for Tom’s family members, colleagues and students.”

Police said Meixner was shot Wednesday afternoon inside the Harshbarger Building, which houses the hydrology department.

Meixner was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A few hours after the shooting, state troopers stopped a former graduate student, 46-year-old Murad Dervish, in a van about 120 miles (193 kilometers) northwest of the Tucson campus, university Police Chief Paula Balafas said during a news conference.

Dervish was being held at the Pima County jail awaiting his initial court appearance. It wasn’t immediately clear what charges he might be face or whether he has a lawyer yet who could speak on his behalf.

According to campus police, a female called 911 at around 2 p.m. Wednesday asking for police to escort a former student out of the Harshbarger Building. Balafas said someone recognized Dervish “and knew that he was not allowed inside the building,” although Balafas didn’t explain why.

Officers were on their way to the building when they received reports that a man shot and wounded someone before fleeing, Balafas said.

The building is near the university bookstore and student union, and campus alerts instructed people to avoid the area, which was under lockdown.

Classes, activities and other campus events were canceled for the rest of the day. Classes resumed on Thursday, but Balafas said the building where the shooting happened might remain closed.

When asked how well Dervish and Meixner knew one another, Balafas said she didn’t know.

Meixner earned a doctorate in hydrology and water resources from the university in 1999 and joined the faculty in 2005 before becoming the department head in 2019. He was considered an expert on desert water issues.

Various faculty members and former students took to social media to praise Meixner as a kind and brilliant colleague.

Karletta Chief, director of the university’s Indigenous Resilience Center, said she met Meixner when she was a graduate student in 2001 and he was new to the faculty. While she was not one of his students, her research in hydrology led to frequent collaborations. The last time she saw Meixner, who was a big supporter of Native American and indigenous communities researching water issues, was a week ago at a seminar his department co-sponsored.

Chief said she emailed Meixner and several others in the hydrology department after the shooting, and that she was devastated to learn he was the one who had been shot.

“It’s just unimaginable that anybody would have any direct anger toward him. He was completely the opposite of that. He was just so kind and positive and always wanting to help,” said Chief, who noted that Meixner never mentioned to her if there had been any trouble with a current or former student.

Meixner was also generous outside of campus, Chief said. He once gave money for a marathon that she ran to benefit the Lymphoma Society.

“He shared that he was thankful for me doing this run and he was a cancer survivor,” she said.

It was 20 years ago this month that a disgruntled University of Arizona nursing student shot and killed three nursing professors before taking his own life.

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October 6, 2022
Uvalde school hires ex-trooper who responded to massacre

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UVALDE, Texas — A former Texas state trooper who was part of the law enforcement response now under investigation for its actions during the deadly school shooting in Uvalde has been hired by the school district as a campus police officer.

Families gathered Thursday outside the Uvalde Independent School District’s administrative office to protest the hiring of former Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Crimson Elizondo. News of her hiring was first reported Wednesday night by CNN.

“We are disgusted and angry at Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District’s (UCISD) decision to hire Officer Crimson Elizondo. Her hiring puts into question the credibility and thoroughness of UCISD’s HR and vetting practices,” a statement from some of the victims’ families said. “And it confirms what we have been saying all along: UCISD has not and is not in the business of ensuring the safety of our children at school.”

Elizondo, who resigned from DPS following the May 24 attack at Robb Elementary School, is listed on the district’s website as a campus police officer.

The school district did not immediately return a message Thursday seeking comment and Elizondo declined to speak to CNN.

In July, a damning report cited “egregiously poor decision making” by law enforcement officers who waited more than an hour before confronting a gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers in a classroom. The campus police chief, Pete Arredondo, was fired in August.

Elizondo is heard speaking with other officers on body camera footage that was released after the attack, CNN reported. In the video, she says: “If my son had been in there, I would not have been outside. I promise you that.”

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, whose district includes Uvalde, said Elizondo’s hiring “slapped this community in the face.”

“A DPS trooper was on scene within two minutes of the shooter and failed to follow training, protocol, and the duty they were sworn to,” he said. “People’s children died because DPS officials failed to do their job.”

A DPS spokesman did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.

———

For more AP coverage of the Uvalde school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting

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October 6, 2022
Closing arguments set in Alex Jones’ Sandy Hook trial

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WATERBURY, Conn. — A Connecticut jury is expected to hear closing arguments Thursday in a trial to determine how much Infowars host Alex Jones should pay for persuading his audience that the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax perpetrated to impose more gun control laws.

The six-person jury could begin deliberations by the day’s end in the lawsuit, one of several filed against the conspiracy theorist by relatives of the 26 people killed in the mass shooting.

Since the trial began Sept. 13, all 15 plaintiffs in the Connecticut lawsuit have testified about being tormented for a decade by people who believed Jones’ claims that the shooting never happened, and that the parents of the 20 slain children were “crisis actors.”

The plaintiffs said they have received death and rape threats, mail from conspiracy theorists that included photos of dead children, and had in-person confrontations with hoax believers. They sued Jones for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violating Connecticut’s unfair trade practices law by profiting off the hoax lies.

The people suing Jones and his company, Free Speech System, in the Connecticut case include the relatives of eight massacre victims, as well as an FBI agent who responded to the school.

Mark Barden, whose son Daniel was among the 26 victims, told the jury conspiracy theorists threatened to dig up the boy’s grave to prove the shooting never happened.

“This is so sacrosanct and hallowed a place for my family and to hear that people were desecrating it and urinating on it and threatening to dig it up, I don’t know how to articulate to you what that feels like,” Barden told the jury. “But that’s where we are.”

Jones, whose show and Infowars brand is based in Austin, Texas, was found liable for defaming the plaintiffs last year. In an unusual ruling, Judge Barbara Bellis found Jones had forfeited his right to a trial as a consequence of repeated violations of court orders and failures to turn over documents to the plaintiffs’ lawyers.

Jones took the stand for a contentious day of testimony, saying he was “done saying I’m sorry” for calling the school shooting a hoax.

Outside the courthouse and on his web show, he has repeatedly bashed the trial as a “kangaroo court” and an effort to put him out of business. He has cited free speech rights, but he and his lawyer were not allowed to make that argument during the trial because he already had been found liable.

Jones’ lawyer, Norm Pattis, has been trying to limit any damages awarded to the victims’ families and claimed the relatives were exaggerating their claims of being harmed.

In a similar trial in Texas in August, a jury ordered Jones to pay nearly $50 million in damages to the parents of one of the children killed in the shooting, because of the hoax lies. A third such trial, also in Texas, involving two other parents is expected to begin near the end of the year.

Jones has said he expects the cases to be tied up in appeals for the next two years and has asked his audience to help him raise $500,000 to pay for his legal expenses. Free Speech Systems, meanwhile, is seeking bankruptcy protection.

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October 5, 2022
Former Northeastern employee charged in campus bomb hoax

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BOSTON — A former Northeastern University employee who said he was injured when a package he was opening on the Boston campus exploded last month was charged Tuesday with fabricating the incident.

Jason Duhaime, formerly the new technology manager and director of the university’s Immersive Media Lab, was charged with “conveying false and misleading information related to an explosive device” and then lying to federal investigators, federal authorities said.

“This alleged conduct is disturbing to say the least,” U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said at a news conference. “Our city, more than most, knows all too well that a report or threat of an explosion is a very serious matter and necessitates an immediate and significant law enforcement response, given the potential devastation that can ensue.”

Duhaime told investigators that the hard plastic case exploded when he opened it on Sept. 13, causing “sharp” objects to fly from the case and injure his arms, but his arms only had superficial marks and there was no damage to his shirt, investigators said.

According to an FBI affidavit, “The inside and outside of the case did not bear any marks, dents, cracks, holes, or other signs that it had been exposed to a forceful or explosive discharge of any type or magnitude.”

The case also contained a rambling typed note full of misspellings and exclamation points that railed against virtual reality, referenced Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and threatened to “destroy” the lab.

“It has come to our attention that this VR lab is trying to change us as a world,” the note said.

The letter also said: “We know you are working with Mr. Mark Zuckerberg and the U.S. government.”

It later said: “We know you are working on a secret flying project to scan buildings across the world so Mark can take over google maps,” and “the robots your (sic) building are walking around NEU, MIT and into Harvard yard.”

The FBI affidavit said the letter was “pristine” and “bore no tears, holes, burn marks, or any other indication that it had been near any sort of forceful or explosive discharge.”

Investigators also discovered a word-for-word, electronic copy of the letter stored in a backup folder on a university computer in Duhaime’s office that had been written just hours before he called 911.

Authorities said they could not comment on the specific motive because of the ongoing investigation.

“In this case, we believe Mr. Duhaime wanted to be the victim but instead victimized his entire community by instilling fear at college campuses in Massachusetts and beyond,” Joseph Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston office said.

Duhaime, who lives in Texas, was scheduled to make an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon in San Antonio.

An attorney for Duhaime did not immediately respond to a telephone message and an email seeking comment. Duhaime has previously denied staging the incident, saying in an interview with The Boston Globe that it was “very traumatic.”

“I did not stage this … No way, shape or form … they need to catch the guy that did this,” he told the newspaper.

Northeastern is a private university with about 16,000 students. The school in a statement Tuesday said Duhaime no longer works there.

The reported explosion led to swarms of police including two bomb squads descending on the school, forced the evacuation of several campus buildings, and put the campus on edge even after reassurances from the school that it was safe.

“His alleged actions diverted significant law enforcement resources away from essential public safety matters and caused fear and panic not only on campus, but also in the homes of the families and friends and loved ones of Northeastern students, faculty and staff,” Rollins said.

It marked one of the first big scares in Boston since 2013, when two bombs planted near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three spectators and wounded more than 260 others.

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October 4, 2022
Florida school shooter contemplated massacre for years

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz told a prosecution psychiatrist he began contemplating a mass murder during middle school, doing extensive research on earlier killers to learn their methods and mistakes to shape his own plans, video played at his penalty trial showed Monday.

Cruz told Dr. Charles Scott during a March jailhouse interview that five years before he murdered 17 at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, he read about the 1999 murder of 13 at Colorado’s Columbine High School, which first sparked the idea of his own mass killing. Cruz told Scott how Columbine, the 2007 murder of 32 at Virginia Tech University and the 2012 killing of 12 at a Colorado movie theater all played a part in his own preparation.

“I studied mass murderers and how they did it,” Cruz told Scott. “How they planned, what they got and what they used.” He said he learned to watch for people coming around corners to stop him, to keep some distance from people as he fired, to attack “as fast as possible” and, in the earlier attacks, “the police didn’t do anything.”

“I should have the opportunity to shoot people for about 20 minutes,” Cruz said.

Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty a year ago to the murders that happened during a seven-minute attack on Feb. 14, 2018, — the trial is only to decide whether he is sentenced to death or life without the possibility of parole. A unanimous vote by the seven-man, five-woman jury is required for Cruz to get death. Anything less and his sentence will be life.

Prosecutor Mike Satz hopes Scott’s testimony will rebut the defense’s contention that heavy drinking by Cruz’s birth mother during pregnancy caused him to suffer from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, putting him on a lifelong path of bizarre and sometimes violent behavior that culminated in the shootings. The defense also tried to show that his adoptive mother, Lynda Cruz, became overwhelmed after her husband died when Cruz was 5 and never got him complete treatment for his mental health issues. She died less than three months before the shootings.

Scott, a University of California, Davis, forensic psychiatrist, testified Monday that his examinations of Cruz and his school and mental health records do not support the defense findings. He diagnosed Cruz with antisocial personality disorder, saying the 24-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student can control his behavior but chooses not to because he has no regard for others. For example, Scott pointed to Cruz’s 14-month employment as a cashier at a discount store with no incidents as proof he can conform.

He also said Cruz did well in the alternative education classes he took after he was expelled from Stoneman Douglas a year before the shootings, getting a perfect score in a course he took on violence and guns.

He said Cruz’s behavior began to spiral when a girlfriend broke up with him six months before the killings.

Cruz told Scott that the night before the shootings, he adjusted the sights on his AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle to make sure he fired accurately. He imagined how the recoil would feel and how his victims would react. He put on the burgundy polo shirt he received when he was a member of the Stoneman Douglas Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps so he would be able blend in with students when he fled.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Cruz told Scott.

Satz also replayed videos Cruz made in the weeks leading up to the shooting where he talked about how he would carry out the killings and hoped for a death toll of at least 20.

Scott said Cruz told him that he specifically chose Valentine’s Day for his massacre because “he has no one to love and love him.”

“This was not a spur of the moment decision. This was planned out for months,” Scott said.

Cruz told Scott he stopped shooting and fled when “I didn’t have anyone else to kill.”

The trial, which began July 18, has been progressing slowly – Monday was only the second court session in almost three weeks. Because of Hurricane Ian, the trial met just one day last week. That came after a nearly two-week pause that followed the defense’s surprise resting of its case Sept. 14 after calling only about a third of the 80 witnesses the attorneys had said they would call. The prosecution then needed time to prepare its rebuttal case and schedule witnesses.

That case is expected to conclude this week. Closing arguments would then be given next Monday followed by deliberations.

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October 3, 2022
Vegas survivors signal hope even as mass shootings persist

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LAS VEGAS — It’s been five years since carnage and death sent his family running into the night, leaving them separated and terrified as a gunman rained bullets into an outdoor country music festival crowd on the Las Vegas Strip.

The memories don’t fade, they sharpen, William “Bill” Henning said as he prepared for ceremonies in Las Vegas marking the date of the Oct. 1, 2017, massacre.

“Chaotic and unreal,” he recalled. “A human stampede. People were bleeding and screaming and running. We all got separated. We didn’t know who was alive. That was the most difficult.”

He’s now part of a survivor community thousands strong, one that’s helped him sort through the horror of what happened during the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Fifty-eight people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000.

In the years since, the grim drumbeat of mass shootings has continued: schools in Uvalde, Texas, and Parkland, Florida; grocery stores in Buffalo, New York, and Boulder, Colorado; bars in Dayton, Ohio, and Thousand Oaks, California; a city building in Virginia Beach, Virginia; a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Meanwhile, the debate over gun laws in the U.S. rages on, including a renewed challenge to the federal regulation sparked by the Las Vegas shooting.

Nevada U.S. Rep. Dina Titus on Saturday called again for a federal law banning bump stocks, the devices used by the Las Vegas shooter that allow a semi-automatic rifle to fire repeatedly with just one pull of the trigger. They were outlawed by rule by the Trump Administration but face court challenges.

And President Joe Biden also called for renewed efforts to tighten firearms laws Saturday while mourning the victims and praising residents who came together in the aftermath of the shooting.

The president noted executive action he’s taken to crack down on ghost guns and rogue gun dealers and the passage of the first significant firearms legislation in 30 years. That bipartisan law signed by Biden in June in part boosts protections for domestic violence victims, funnels cash to states for firearms crime prevention and has money for mental health services.

“But, we’re not stopping there,” Biden said in a statement. “I am determined to seize this momentum and work with Congress to enact further commonsense gun violence prevention legislation, including banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, which have enabled shooters to slaughter so many innocents.”

The Las Vegas massacre is part of a horrifying uptick of shootings with especially high numbers of people killed, said James Alan Fox, a professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern University in Boston. Five of the nine mass shootings in modern U.S. history with more than 20 people killed have taken place since 2016, starting with the Pulse nightclub in Orlando and continuing through the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

“The severity of public mass shootings has increased in the past few years. That’s clear,” Fox said. “And worrisome.”

Fox oversees a database maintained by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University that tracks mass killings involving four or more people slain, not including the perpetrator. The information is drawn from media reports, FBI data, arrest records, medical examiners’ reports, prison records and other court documents.

Watching the steady stream of shootings in the U.S. is tough for survivors, said Tennille Pereira, director of a Clark County recovery and support program called the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center.

“I know when it keeps happening, people often express feelings of hopelessness,” Pereira said. “I think the big thing for Las Vegas is to be able to share with those other communities that healing does occur, and that there is hope.”

For people like Henning, part of that hope has been the bond formed with other survivors. The retired computer technician was celebrating his 71st birthday at the Route 91 Harvest Festival with friends, his wife, daughter and three teenage grandchildren when the gunfire began. He suffered a knee injury while escaping that required surgery, but his group made it out without being struck by gunfire.

“At first, the first few years, it’s not really sinking in,” he said. “The more we organize ourselves, the more that we see each other, it actually brings us back to how serious this situation was.”

Many in Las Vegas who won’t name the man who police said fired 1,057 bullets from 32nd floor windows of the Mandalay Bay resort during a span of time now memorialized in a Paramount+ streaming service documentary called “11 Minutes.”

“We don’t want to give him any more power, credibility, infamy,” Pereira said. “In this survivor population, words matter. We don’t use the word ‘anniversary.’ We use ‘remembrance.’ We try not to use the word ‘victims.’ We try to use the word ‘survivor.’”

Police and the FBI spent months investigating and concluded that gunman Stephen Paddock acted alone, meticulously planned the attack and intentionally concealed his actions. He amassed an arsenal of 23 assault-style rifles in his hotel room, including 14 fitted with bump stock devices that help the weapons fire rapidly.

Caches of weapons also were found at Paddock’s homes in Reno and Mesquite, Nevada. But he killed himself before police reached him, and local and federal officials said they never identified a clear motive for the attack.

Shortly after the shooting, the administration of then-President Donald Trump banned bump stocks under the same federal laws that prohibit machine guns. Gun-rights advocates sued, saying the weapons didn’t qualify as machine guns and it would take an act of Congress to ban them.

The ban has survived several court challenges. But a federal appeals court in New Orleans revived a case there in June, the same day the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling expanding gun rights. That case marked the high court’s first major gun decision in more than a decade and has sparked a wave of court challenges to gun laws around the country.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, survivors are working toward a permanent memorial on a corner of the former Las Vegas Strip festival ground.

A sunrise remembrance ceremony is scheduled Saturday at the Clark County Government Center, and the names of those killed will be read 10:05 p.m. — the time the shooting started — at a downtown Las Vegas Community Healing Garden.

Survivor Sue Nelson, 67, said she fled from her front-row seat and hid for hours on the Las Vegas Strip, forming deep bonds with others who escaped. She declared she has “survivor sorrow, not survivor guilt” because she didn’t do anything wrong.

Nelson drives two hours to Las Vegas from her home in Lake Havasu, Arizona, for memorial events and gives out lapel pins shaped like little guitars and rubber wrist bands stamped with: “We Remember 10.1.17 #Honors58.”

“I’m not afraid anymore,” she said. “It makes a big difference in healing when you’re not afraid anymore.”

———

Whitehurst reported from Washington.

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October 1, 2022
1 teen killed, 1 wounded in Tulsa homecoming game shooting

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TULSA, Okla. — A teenager was killed and another was wounded in a shooting at a high school homecoming game in Oklahoma Friday night, police said.

The victims, both 17, were shot during the event at McLain High School for Science and Technology shortly before 10 p.m., according to a statement by the Tulsa Police Department posted on Twitter and Facebook.

“When Officers arrived, we found two victims amongst the crowd of hundreds. One 17-year-old male was pronounced dead at the scene,” the post said.

The surviving victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition but has improved to stable condition, the statement said.

Several officers and a K-9 unit searched nearby neighborhoods but were not immediately able to find the suspected shooter, who fled the scene on foot, police said.

The school on N. Peoria Avenue has an enrollment of 666 students, according to the McLain High School website.

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October 1, 2022
Police: Oakland high school shooting wounds 6 adults

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OAKLAND, Calif. — At least six adults were wounded in a shooting at a school campus in Oakland on Wednesday, with at least some of the victims found inside the school, authorities said.

The shooting took place around 12:45 p.m. at Rudsdale Newcomer High School, authorities said. The school serves recent immigrants ages 16-21 who have fled violence and instability in their home countries, according to the school’s website. It is one of four adjacent schools located on a block in east Oakland.

Officials have not said whether any of the victims might be students age 18 or older.

“The victims were affiliated with the school, and we are determining the affiliation at this time,” Oakland Assistant Police Chief Darren Allison said, although he declined to say whether any students or teachers were involved.

Allison said police were seeking at least one suspect but did not have anyone in custody.

Three of the wounded were taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland, while the other three were taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley. Allison said three people remained hospitalized Wednesday evening, two of them with life-threatening injuries, while one person had been released and two others were expected to be released soon.

John Sasaki, a spokesperson for Oakland Unified School District, said in a statement that district officials “do not have any information beyond what Oakland Police are reporting.” He said counselors were being made available for students and he could not say whether the schools at the site would be open Thursday.

Television footage showed dozens of police cars and yellow tape on the street outside the school and students leaving nearby campuses.

City Council Member Treva Reid said investigators told her the shooting may be tied to rising “group and gang violence.”

James Jackson, chief executive of Alameda Health System, also noted an increase in violence.

“We’ve seen almost a doubling of the violent crimes victims that we’re seeing here at our facility (Highland Hospital). So something has changed,” Jackson said.

City Council Member Loren Taylor, who was outside the school, declined to confirm any details about the incident, telling KTVU-TV, “Guns were on our school campuses where our babies were supposed to be protected.”

———

This story has been corrected to show that The Associated Press, quoting Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, erroneously identified the location of the shooting. It was at Rudsdale Newcomer High School, not Sojourner Truth Independent Study school.

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September 29, 2022
Twenty20 Solutions Introduces Active Shooter Location & Identification (ASLI) Capabilities

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Press Release
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Sep 27, 2022

IRVING, Texas, September 27, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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Twenty20 Solutions, in partnership with Acoem USA, has announced the addition of Active Shooter Location Identification (“ASLI”) technology to its lineup of security technology solutions. With increasing concerns about gun violence for organizations of all types and sizes, comprehensive, next-generation active shooter solutions offer significant improvements over traditional gunshot detection solutions.

Businesses, neighborhoods, religious and educational institutions seek ways to improve security and keep people as safe as possible. This has led to the utilization of traditional gunshot detection technology – typically in the form of microphones and security cameras installed in key locations – listening for the sound of gunfire and reporting events to security officials. However, traditional gunshot detection solutions can be limited in scope. Criticisms of such legacy technology include high instances of false positives along with the inability to collect any identifying information on the perpetrator or the firearm. In addition, legacy technology faces privacy and citizen’s rights concerns, due to the broad, non-specific responses that these solutions often trigger. Twenty20 and Acoem’s ASLI technology surpasses traditional solutions helping minimize these concerns, thanks to the addition of integrated, real-time video powered by artificial intelligence.

“Simply stated, ASLI allows you to better protect people, property, and assets.” notes Twenty20 CEO, Dan Vertachnik. “It’s not just the detection of gunfire which differentiates ALSI; ASLI acoustic detection technology works in tandem with video surveillance to identify shooters, distinguish between long guns and handguns, identify getaway vehicles, and potentially match a shooter to an identity via facial recognition all while helping direct potential victims away from danger. Our solution allows users to gain real-time situational awareness that can be passed on to first responders. ASLI also integrates seamlessly with access control solutions, enabling automatic lockdown of your site’s entry points, if desired. This gives you critical extra time to lock or unlock doors internally to facilitate the movement of innocent people as needed while barring or slowing active shooters. Active Shooter Location Identification plays a big role in keeping your sites safer while at the same time helping law enforcement and emergency officials in responding to active shooter situations.”

“Acoem is excited to partner with Twenty20 solutions, and to pair our powerful military proven Acoustic Threat Detection technology with their many portable solutions. The ability to offer “eyes” and “ears” on demand is a critical need in today’s world. Our gunshot detection paired with Twenty20’s amazing user interface, analytics, and video monitoring will truly make communities, schools, and any monitored area more secure,” says Acoem Sales Manager Mike Arnold.

About Twenty20 Solutions

Twenty20 Solutions is a global provider of automation and security technology, smart surveillance, monitoring, and access control solutions for on and off-grid environments. Twenty20 offers a full suite of AI and video analytics technologies including object detection, facial recognition, license plate recognition, thermal & radar detection, and more. For more information, visit www.twenty20solutions.com.

Source: Twenty20 Solutions

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September 27, 2022
100 Percent of US — a Grassroots Campaign Launched to Prevent School Shootings — Demands Immediate Action From Congress

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The movement’s message to the U.S. Senate: “We demand Congress enact further legislation to fully protect students from school shootings — and to do it NOW.”

Press Release
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Sep 19, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore., September 19, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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100 Percent of US strives to unite Americans around the urgent need to prevent school shootings. The campaign asks progressives, conservatives, and everyone in-between to acknowledge, “While we don’t agree on much, 100% of US agree kids should not be murdered at school.”

The campaign founder and mother, Mariah Gray, launched 100PercentofUS.com over the summer, as millions of parents prepared to send their kids back-to-school. “School shootings should not be a political issue. If folks from the entire political spectrum agree kids and teachers should not be murdered at school, then Congress has their marching orders—it’s time they devise and implement effective legislation to prevent 100% of school shootings across the country,” said Gray.

The backbone of the campaign is a promise not to discuss politics in order to maintain solidarity among participants. “Our campaign is not telling Congress how to stop school shootings, we’re telling them when to do it. We demand Congress enact further legislation to fully protect students from school shootings by a deadline of Nov. 1, 2022.”

100PercentofUS.com encourages participants to write letters to two key Senators urging Congress to take immediate action to prevent future school shootings. Letters should be mailed to majority leader and New York Senator Chuck Schumer, and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, who serves as the minority leader of the United States Senate.

October 1^st—the date on which participants should mail their letters is quickly approaching.

For more information or to download letter templates and get involved in the bipartisan movement, please visit 100PercentofUS.com.

About 100 Percent of US
100 Percent of US is a non-monetary, non-affiliated, grassroots movement comprised of Americans seeking action from our legislature on the issue of school shootings.

Contact Information
Info@100PercentofUS.com

Source: 100 Percent of US

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September 19, 2022
National Safety Shelters Offers Protection With the Threat of School Shootings a Top Concern for Parents
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Only 31% of parents feel their children are “very safe” at school, according to a recent study.

Press Release
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Sep 15, 2022
PORT SAINT LUCIE, Fla., September 15, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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As children head back into the classroom for the new school year, the top concern for parents remains that of school shootings, as revealed in the 2022 Back-to-School Study from Qualtrics.

The study, which was fielded between July 19-29, 2022, from more than 1,000 respondents, revealed just how much the ongoing threat of gun violence continues to weigh heavy on parents’ minds:
- The top school safety concern for parents is school shootings, topping bullying and COVID.
- Only 31% of K-12 parents say they feel their children are “very safe.”
- More than one-tenth (13%) of parents have moved their kids to new schools due to safety concerns, with an additional third (33%) considering doing so.
Even though the school year has only just begun, the May 24 attack on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, has the possibility of a worst-case scenario weighing heavy on parents’ minds. In turn, educational institutions continue their quests to find better ways to prepare for the possibility that such an event could take place on their grounds.

In response to the 2018 Parkland school shooting, the Final Report of the Federal Commission on School Safety, released Dec. 18, 2018, recommends that schools should “seek to create secure spaces within classrooms where students and teachers can shelter in the case of an active shooter.”

National Safety Shelters developed a way to fulfill the above recommendation – classroom safety pods. Not only do the pods give students and teachers immediate protection from an active shooter, but parents can now be confident that their kids have an impenetrable place to shelter during an attack.

“Although the pods were originally manufactured as tornado shelters, the design was modified after the Sandy Hook tragedy in December 2012 with the intent of offering them to schools as a dual-purpose safety measure: to protect from tornadoes and active shooters,” said Dennis Corrado, President of National Safety Shelters. “With parents sending their children back to school following the Uvalde tragedy, there is a growing need for them to know that their children are as safe as possible.”

National Safety Shelters pods are made using quarter-inch American-made NIJ Ballistic Level III steel. This military-grade steel is specially heat-treated to resist not only handguns and shotguns, but also semi-automatic weapons commonly used in mass shootings, like AK-47 and AR-15 rifles. The steel used in the NIJ Ballistic Level III shelters has been tested by the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center. It has met or surpassed the minimum required V50 ballistic limit protection criteria for Class 1 armor.

School systems nationwide are taking note, such as the Quitman School District in Quitman, Arkansas, investing in National Safety Shelters pods to protect its students. The district attributes its 20% increase in enrollment to parents seeking a district with a commitment to safety and said the additional government revenue from the increased enrollment covered the cost of the pods.

Visit www.nationalsafetyshelters.com for more information on how National Safety Shelters safety pods can protect your school or business.

About National Safety Shelters
National Safety Shelters safety pods provide instant protection from violence-related incidents, including armed intruders and severe weather, including EF5 tornadoes. Their modular design can be formatted to fit any particular need. Please visit http://nationalsafetyshelters.com to learn more about how National Safety Shelters’ safety pods can protect your school or business.

Media Contact

Dan Johnson
dan.johnson@newswire.com

Source: National Safety Shelters
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September 15, 2022
Parents Will Now Be Able to Grade Their Child’s School Safety

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The new School Safety Report Card will allow parents to observe potential safety risks at their children’s schools, and schools will be expected to respond.

Press Release
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Jul 13, 2022

SARASOTA, Fla., July 13, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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The School Safety Advocacy Council (SSAC), the nation’s leading school safety training and assessment organization for the past 20 years, recently released a new tool for parents to become more active in helping local schools keep students safe. The new School Safety Parent Report Card© will rely on parents making safety-related observations of their children’s schools through a series of 10 simple questions that parents will answer based upon their daily observations when visiting their child’s school or just dropping off and picking up their children. The areas in question are easily observed, and in most cases may be missed if not actively thinking about safety factors and protocols. Areas such as locked gates, locked doors, exterior door numbers, classroom door locks, visitor management and more. After the brief questionnaire and based upon the responses, a grade of A through F will be assigned and the parent will forward a copy of the report to the School Principal, Superintendent of schools and/or Elected Community leaders. The idea is to immediately inform school leaders that gaps in the school safety protocol may exist and that these issues should be addressed immediately.

“Through the many tragedies we have seen over the past 30 years, we always come across parents who later state they knew a particular area was vulnerable to threats,” said Curtis Lavarello, Executive Director of the School Safety Advocacy Council. “This not only engages more sets of eyes each day around schools but brings about ownership and accountability on the part of the school administration,” continued Lavarello.

“School Safety is something that should be the most important factor in our children’s education, not only following a mass school shooting, but every single day,” said Sean Burke, SSAC’s President and former law enforcement commander just outside of Boston, MA.

There is no cost for the program, and the report card can be downloaded at www.SCHOOLSAFETY911.org.

Source: SSAC

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July 13, 2022
National Safety Shelters Partners With School District to Improve School Security With Safety Pods

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Schools that install safety pods can see an increase in revenue due to higher enrollment, as parents feel secure in dropping their children off at schools that offer greater protection from active shooters and tornadoes

Press Release
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Jul 12, 2022

PORT SAINT LUCIE, Fla., July 12, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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A recent survey conducted with school teachers indicates that nearly half are contemplating transferring schools or quitting altogether due to their concerns about safety. The time to invest in better safety and security measures for schools is now. As the Quitman School District in Arkansas can attest, installing and utilizing National Safety Shelters‘ safety pods has made a positive impact on the peace of mind of parents and educators and has been the catalyst for driving more revenue and enrollment.

The Quitman school board made the decision to install National Safety Shelters’ safety pods in every classroom in 2018. Superintendents and school board members from other districts who have since personally toured the Quitman campus emphatically remarked that the safety pods are the best safety feature that a school district could invest in to protect their students and staff.

Dennis Truxler, Superintendent at the Quitman School District, credits the security the safety pods provide ― and the peace of mind that comes with knowing they are there ― as part of the reason for the district’s 20% increase in student enrollment. Most of the new students have matriculated in from neighboring districts. Significantly, revenue from the increase in student enrollment has more than covered the cost of purchasing and installing the safety pods. (Read more about Truxler’s decision to install National Safety Shelters safety pods in the Quitman School District in his full testimonial.)

That revenue gain is driven in part by the safety pods having no operating or maintenance costs. Once a safety pod is installed, it is always ready for use, requires no maintenance, and will function optimally for years to come. The cost of a safety pod project over a 14-year enrollment period averages out to around $7 per month per student.

Truxler describes parents’ reaction to the shelters as “overwhelmingly positive” and reiterates his gratitude for, and belief in, the investment. “I spent a lot of time researching and reading articles concerning school safety and nothing compares to our shelters. I am 100% satisfied with the security that the safety pods produced by National Safety Shelters provide to our students and staff.”

The safety pods from National Safety Shelters are unique in that they serve a dual purpose – protection from both tornadoes and active shooters. They have been designed and tested to withstand the destructive forces of the highest category (EF5) tornado. In addition, each safety pod is constructed with American-made, National Institute of Justice (NIJ) ballistic Level III steel (MIL-DTL-46100). Being virtually bulletproof, the pods are capable of stopping bullets from semi-automatic weapons, such as AR-15 and AK-47 rifles, which are commonly used in mass shootings.

The pods serve as an excellent defense layer for schools that are concerned about the dramatic rise in school shootings in recent years, since near-absolute protection for students is available. There is no longer the need to hide in fear in closets or under desks. Finally, a safety measure that can potentially eliminate casualties is now readily available.

The design of the safety pods can be customized to satisfy any amount of square footage and any desired layout. Typically, each pod occupies less than 5% of the existing classroom space. Unlike other security measures, such as armed personnel, video surveillance systems, metal detectors, etc., the one-time investment comes with no operating or maintenance costs. The safety pods can be used to retrofit existing buildings or can be designed into new ones. They can even be moved to a different location later if necessary. Most importantly, each pod, regardless of layout or size, is designed to be immediately accessible, ensuring occupant safety within seconds.

Visit www.nationalsafetyshelters.com for more information on how National Safety Shelters safety pods can protect your school or business.

About National Safety Shelters

National Safety Shelters safety pods provide instant protection from violence-related incidents, including armed intruders, and severe weather, including EF5 tornadoes. Their modular design can be formatted to fit any particular need. Please visit http://nationalsafetyshelters.com to learn more about how National Safety Shelters’ safety pods can protect your school.

Media Contact

Dan Johnson

dan.johnson@newswire.com

Source: National Safety Shelters

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July 12, 2022
New York Passes Alyssa’s Law: School Districts Look to the SaferWatch App as an Example

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With the passing of Alyssa’s Law, New York school districts are looking to Florida as an example to implement silent panic alarm systems, like SaferWatch App.

Press Release
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Jun 23, 2022

NEW YORK, June 23, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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In the wake of mass shootings in-state and around the country, New York lawmakers are passing legislation to increase school safety measures which require silent panic alarm systems.

Alyssa’s Law, enacted in honor of Alyssa Alhadeff, one of 17 victims of the 2018 mass school shooting in Parkland, FL, requires public schools to consider panic systems that silently alert law enforcement in the event of a life-threatening or emergency situation.

Meeting these mandates in New York requires innovative emergency response technology and NYS school districts are looking to Florida and SaferWatch as early adopters of Alyssa’s Law.

The passing of Alyssa’s Law legislation was spearheaded by Broward County School Board member Lori Alhadeff whose daughter, Alyssa Alhadeff, lost her life during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre in Parkland, FL.

To add a new layer of security for students in compliance with Alyssa’s Law, Broward County Public Schools announced the launch of SaferWatch App’s Alyssa’s Alert — a mobile app that allows school employees to immediately contact law enforcement during an emergency with the push of a button.

Using the SaferWatch App, faculty and staff can report an active shooter, crime in progress, or a medical or fire emergency with a silent panic button directly on their phone. SaferWatch immediately notifies 911 centers, first responders, and school staff to take the appropriate actions. The SaferWatch Panic Button system can save approximately 2.5 minutes during an emergency response.

Lori Alhadeff was quoted: “Once that button is pushed, it’s directly linked to law enforcement, and we’re fully integrated in the 911 centers. We will always honor and remember the 17 lost on that tragic day, but now with Alyssa’s Alert, we will mitigate the next tragedy.”

Since Alyssa’s Law passed in Florida, thousands of schools have partnered with SaferWatch to better equip their staff and students for critical situations. Geno Roefaro, CEO of SaferWatch, said the company’s Mobile Panic Alert System has already helped with multiple medical emergencies and stopped criminals from being on campus.

Roefaro also said multiple lives have been saved due to tips and reports on the SaferWatch App and through their close partnerships with local law enforcement. When it comes to panic alerts during emergencies, average response times have been shortened and first responders have more information when arriving on scene. SaferWatch has been credited with stopping and preventing multiple school shooting threats and has saved students’ lives considering suicide.

The SaferWatch App can help schools and communities prepare, prevent, and respond to emergencies in schools nationwide. Regardless of Alyssa’s Law, SaferWatch encourages all schools to take advantage of these advanced life-saving tools. For more information, visit https://www.saferwatchapp.com.

Media Contact: Mahiza Moore, Mahiza.Moore@exults.com

Source: SaferWatch App

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June 23, 2022
Using Entry Vestibules to Boost School Security

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Press Release
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updated: Oct 10, 2019

ATLANTA, October 10, 2019 (Newswire.com)
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School systems all across the country are always looking for new ways to increase the safety and security of their students and staff. One particular method that is gaining popularity is adding a security vestibule, or mantrap, to the entrances of the school buildings. Prefabricated entry vestibules are often utilized as a way for a facility to save on energy costs, especially during harsh weather seasons. They keep the facility closed off at all times by creating an enclosed buffer-zone between the outside environment and the inside of the facility, helping the facility maintain a more constant temperature by keeping outside air out and inside air in. This way facilities can save a lot of money in the long run by not having their HVAC systems running constantly. This can be especially helpful in facilities with a lot of foot traffic in and out, leading to the entrances doors being open and closed often.

However, having this barrier at the front of your school system can create a benefit for the school’s security as well. The additional room that the entry vestibule creates at the front of the school creates what is known as a mantrap. The rooms are referred to as such because they quite literally can be used to trap a man (or woman) from entering into your facility. The vestibule does this by keeping the all door sets in the room locked whenever a person is inside.

How Would Students Gain Entry?

Typically, these systems operate in a couple of ways. First, they can have what is essentially a two-step verification for the entry of the facility. In this case, the building would use two different forms of Identification (so an ID card and PIN code for example) for each of the doors. This a very high level of security and is typically utilized in places like a government facility.

So How Do These Entry Vestibules Protect Schools?

For most schools, a simple, single-step verification with one or two sets of locked doors would likely be fine. In this case, the first set of doors could either be unlocked or locked. If unlocked, the first door would immediately lock once a person entered. From there, the person could exit the vestibule using a form of Identification. If the outer door is locked, it would have the ID verification and once the person entered, the inner door would remain locked until the outer door was closed. A form of vestibule monitoring (either manual or technological) should be employed in these vestibules to ensure no more than one person enters at a time.

Source: Panel Built Inc

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October 10, 2019
LiveSafe Selected by D.C. Public Schools to Support ‘Safe Spots for Students’ Initiative

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LiveSafe will be used by students in 20 schools throughout Washington, D.C., this year, with a focus on high school students

Press Release
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updated: Aug 29, 2019

ARLINGTON, Va., August 29, 2019 (Newswire.com)
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LiveSafe, the leading risk intelligence and safety communications platform, has been selected by D.C. Public Schools to support a major new student safety initiative throughout the nation’s capital.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the selection Aug. 23 as part of the Safe Spots for Students initiative. Safe Spots is one of several new initiatives that were announced as part of the Mayor’s broader Safe Passage efforts — a response to growing safety and security concerns voiced by parents and students.

D.C. Public Schools is deploying LiveSafe to support students’ requests to more easily send emergency alerts, share their walking or riding status with others, make reports to law enforcement, and flag concerns for other students using a shared map. LiveSafe will be used by students in 20 schools throughout Washington, D.C., this year, with a focus on high school students.

“We are honored and privileged to take part in this very important program to give D.C. Public School students the tools they need to keep themselves and their community safe,” said LiveSafe CEO and President Carolyn Parent. “Our roots run deep in education safety and security. But Washington, D.C., is our home and we feel an extraordinary sense of commitment to this effort.”

Safe Spots for Students is a joint effort of the Bowser administration, D.C. Public Schools, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME), the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE), the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the East of the River Services Office (ERS), the Office of the Chief Student Advocate, and the Anacostia Business Improvement District.

LiveSafe is deployed across the nation at Fortune 1,000 companies, government agencies, school districts, and universities. The Arlington, Virginia-based firm is advised by noted law enforcement and security leaders including Governor Tom Ridge and former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, and backed by investors such as Enterprise Investment Partners, L.P. (the personal investment vehicle for FedEx Chairman and CEO Fred Smith), and IAC, with participation from new investors Dave Duffield (founder and former CEO of PeopleSoft and Workday), Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, and GXPI (investment arm of Evergy, Inc.).

About LiveSafe, Inc.:

LiveSafe’s risk intelligence technology platform surfaces early warning insights and prevents serious safety and security incidents to mitigate operational risks, reduce financial losses, and make places safer for people to work, learn, and live. Follow LiveSafe on Twitter @LiveSafe, and learn more at LiveSafeMobile.com.

Contact:
LiveSafe Public Relations
(703) 436-2098 | jody.bennett@livesafemobile.com

Source: LiveSafe Inc.

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August 29, 2019
International Association of Women Recognizes Regina Ferguson as a 2019-2020 Influencer

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Regina Ferguson, Director at Strategos International, joins networking organization

Press Release
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updated: Aug 27, 2019

CHICAGO, August 27, 2019 (Newswire.com)
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The International Association of Women (IAW) recognizes Regina Ferguson as a 2019-2020 Influencer. She is acknowledged as a leader in risk management. The International Association of Women (IAW) is a global in-person and online networking platform with more than 100 local chapters, International Chapters in several cities in China and 1000+ in person and virtual events.

“I’m pleased to welcome Regina into this exceptional group of professional women,” said IPDN President and IAW Spokesperson Star Jones. “Her knowledge and experience in her industry are valuable assets to her company and community.”

For 16 years, Regina Ferguson worked for a large urban public school district, first as Operations Manager/Senior Paralegal for the inhouse legal services department for eleven years, and then appointed to be the district’s Risk Manager where she oversaw the safety program, all insurance policies, and district administrative policies for staff and student safety.

After leaving the school district, Ms. Ferguson was approached by Strategos International, LLC, the vendor she worked with to establish safety procedures for student safety. “The owners of Strategos International asked if I would consider working as a Consultant focusing completely on the school division for the company. I already had a strong working relationship with everyone at Strategos International, and within a year my role evolved into a full-time position as Director of Public Schools Safety and Security Solutions,” she said. “I have been with Strategos International as a Consultant and full-time employee for two years, in addition to five years as a client.”

In her current role, Ms. Ferguson works directly with schools and districts to conduct safety assessments, policy and procedure development, training related to active and unknown threats in the school and work place environment, bus safety and behavior pattern recognition training. “We also provide informational sessions for parents and community groups related to recognizing potential threats and how to proactively share those concerns to prevent a potentially hazardous situation in their local schools,” she added.

“I enjoy working with people to see past their regular routine and understand that safety is everyone’s responsibility. Safety awareness does not have to be scary; it can be empowering, making you feel you are in control of your own successes.” Ms. Ferguson continued. “Schools are welcoming environments and should be filled with the sounds of happy students; practicing a high level of safety awareness does not have to impact that positive experience.”

Ms. Ferguson admits it can be challenging to change someone’s mindset from the nostalgic ideas of how things have always been done. “The rewarding part is when that person fully embraces all the necessary changes for a safe school environment and becomes the champion for all safety related topics,” she said.

“I am here to share the school safety message with whomever will listen,” Ms. Ferguson said. “Every person either has a child in school, knows someone with a child in school or knows someone who works in a school. Because of changes in the culture and climate not only in schools but in our communities, safety training can begin at school but should be a skill that is taken anywhere and used at any given time and place. The hope is we never need to protect ourselves from an active threat. The goal is we all become educated to prevent the potential for a threat and, if one does occur, we not only survive but prevail.”

In addition to her work with Strategos International, Ms. Ferguson is also a licensed Realtor in Missouri and Kansas working with her husband, Michael, at Michael Ferguson Realty brokered by eXp. The same enjoyment she has working with people translates in her work as a Realtor, and she finds great joy when clients find their perfect home.

Education & Accomplishments: Master of Business Administration, Webster University; Masters of Legal Studies with Paralegal Certification, Webster University; Guest Trainer for the Missouri School Plant Manager’s Association Core Certification Safety Courses Sept 22-24, 2019; Presenter/Exhibitor at the Missouri School Boards Association Annual Conference Sept 25-27, 2019

About IAW
The International Association of Women (IAW) is a global in-person and online professional networking platform that provides women the forum, professional development and services needed to thrive in an interconnected world. Through 100+ local chapters, International Chapters in several cities in China and 1000+ in person and virtual events, members cultivate valuable connections, develop professionally, and promote themselves and their businesses. Founded in Chicago in 2017, IAW is a division of Professional Diversity Network, Inc., an online network tailored to provide diverse professionals in the United States with access to employment opportunities.

Source: International Association of Professional Women

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August 27, 2019
Jewish Community Campus, Site of 2014 Active Shooter, Installs SafeDefend Active Shooter Response System

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The new system is a proactive solution in a crisis situation.

Press Release
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updated: Oct 30, 2018

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., October 30, 2018 (Newswire.com)
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Two organizations at the Jewish Community Campus – Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and the Jewish Community Center’s Child Development Center recently installed SafeDefend, a proactive crisis response system. This system uses multiple communication methods to alert security, faculty, students, and visitors within seconds of a crisis situation occurring. It also sends an immediate detailed message to local police.

The installation of this security notification system, which was made possible by a security grant from the Morgan Family Foundation, is one of the Jewish Community Campus’ newest security enhancements. The system was installed after a thorough review of the Campus’ security needs by Chuck Green, Community Wide Security Director for Kansas City’s Jewish community.

“The more information and the more quickly we get it, the safer we can keep our community. The SafeDefend system allows us to improve our response time and security awareness. My job is to make this community a safer, more secure place for everyone to enjoy, and this system is a critical tool in helping us achieve this goal.”

The security enhancements in Kansas City’s Jewish community come as a result of April 13, 2014, shooting at the Jewish Community Campus and nearby Village Shalom senior living center. Three individuals were killed in the shooting. Following the shooting, a Jewish Community Security Director position was immediately put into motion. Green came on board as the current director in February 2017. He has extensive experience in the security field, having served as a special agent for the U.S. Secret Service for more than 30 years.

Jeff Green, a former Kansas elementary school principal, developed the SafeDefend Active Shooter Response System to address the following priorities.

1)     Ensuring law enforcement and onsite staff has detailed, real-time information about a crisis.

2)     Reducing law enforcement response time.

3)     Providing onsite staff with tools to effectively manage a crisis until help arrives.

About SafeDefend: The SafeDefend system uses multiple communication methods to communicate specific details of a crisis situation to local police and onsite staff. Police and staff are immediately notified of the specific location of the crisis in detailed text and/or email, a 911 call is placed, and audible sirens and warning lights notify onsite staff and visitors. Staff is provided with training and tools to survive the crisis until help arrives.

Faculty and staff will attend active shooter response training as well as SafeDefend system training on Friday, Nov. 2, from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the Jewish Community Campus.

Media Contact:

Jeff Green

913 856 2800

Jeff@safedefend.com

                                                                                ###

Source: SafeDefend, LLC

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October 30, 2018
Catholic School Installs Active Shooter Response System to Protect Students and Staff

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Press Release
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updated: Aug 10, 2018

NEWTON, Kan., August 10, 2018 (Newswire.com)
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St. Mary Catholic School in Newton, KS has installed the SafeDefend Active Shooter Response System. Responding to recent school shooting tragedies, Principal Philip Stutey and his safety team had vetted numerous approaches to increase the security of their students and staff. After much review, the decision to adopt the SafeDefend system was an easy one.

The SafeDefend Active Shooter Response System was developed by a former elementary principal. As a father of three and with 475 students under his watch, Jeff Green realized that schools were not addressing the four critical areas needed to protect students and staff. Those four priorities were:

1)      reducing law enforcement response time

2)      ensuring law enforcement and staff had real-time crisis information

3)      providing the ability for staff to effectively manage the crisis until help arrives

4)      realizing the biggest threat to our schools is already inside the building

SafeDefend utilizes multiple ways of communication in a crisis. Police and staff are immediately notified of the location of the crisis through text and email, a 911 call is placed, sirens notify all staff and visitors, and staff are provided with tools and training to survive the crisis until help arrives. Staff can utilize the tools to escape and evade, provide protection, and respond to trauma. SafeDefend is protecting students and staff in school districts across the country.

“Traditional methods for protecting our students and staff fail us. Current and former students are the most likely threats and will be in the building. Law enforcement and staff need critical, accurate information to perform effectively.” – Jeff Green, Founder and President of SafeDefend

Mr. Philip Stutey concurs: “SafeDefend supports our mission statement of meeting the needs of our school community spiritually, academically, emotionally and physically by providing the security needed in today’s world. Schools have safeguards against fire and weather issues but have been behind in protecting against an active intruder. No other company or product that we found offers the protection, law enforcement compatibility, empowerment of staff and peace of mind to our community like SafeDefend.”

St. Mary Catholic School is located in Newton, KS and is part of the Wichita, KS Diocese.

Media Contacts:

St Mary Catholic School
Mr. Philip Stutey, Principal
(316) 282-1974
pstutey@smcsnewton.org

SafeDefend, LLC
Jeff Green, President
www.safedefend.com
(913) 856-2800
jeff@safedefend.com

Source: SafeDefend, LLC

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August 10, 2018
Addressing School Violence and Bullying, STOPit Solutions Now in 500+ Texas Schools

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Press Release
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updated: Jun 5, 2018

HOLMDEL, N.J., June 5, 2018 (Newswire.com)
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STOPit Solutions, which provides a comprehensive, anonymous software communication platform that mitigates and deters school violence, harassment, and bullying, announced Wednesday that the number of schools in Texas protected with STOPit Solutions passes 500 safe STOPit schools. The news comes after Gov. Greg Abbott announced school safety plans and proposed increased attention to school safety.

“STOPit has been a beneficial tool to the students in our district by providing them the ability to anonymously report incidents that they may not have felt comfortable doing otherwise,” stated Karen Stevens, Director of Student Support Services for Comal Independent School District in Comal Texas.

Texas passed a landmark law one year ago in June 2017 mandating that all schools adopt an anonymous reporting solution. STOPit is now used across the state and is a cornerstone of improved school climate, and integration with local enforcement whenever needed. This incredible adoption rate and the successful STOPit program has already helped to manage 6,275 incident reports in less than a year in Texas.

“Texas’ David’s Law was passed to help protect kids and mandate that schools implement a modern reporting solution. We are incredibly proud of the stellar track record we are delivering in STOPit schools across Texas, and see improved behavior with our modern approach to address today’s complex issues in schools,” stated Neil Hooper, STOPit CRO. “We wish it were in every school. School violence and aggressive student behavior must be stopped early and effectively, and STOPit is leading this effort across the state of Texas. It’s a good sign to see the state, schools, and teachers trying to do everything they can.” added Todd Schobel, founder of STOPit. “We look forward to many more schools embracing the STOPit platform.”

With the tap of a button in the STOPit app, students can anonymously share incidents and alert school administrators – along with photographs, videos, screenshots or other evidence that may be relevant. When reports are filed, school administrators are notified immediately so that they can address the issue and, when necessary, engage law enforcement through an integrated escalation process. Some districts also use STOPit’s call center to route emergency reports directly to local law enforcement for them through STOPit’s 24-hour monitoring service.

STOPit has been creating safer places to learn, work, and live for over 5 years. Their innovative platform and comprehensive 24 hours per day monitoring service continue to make exciting market leading announcements across the country.

About STOPit:

STOPit is the leading technology company providing a comprehensive software platform and incident monitoring service that mitigates, deters and controls bullying, including cyberbullying, harassment and other harmful or inappropriate conduct. Stopping issues early creates a safer environment. The STOPit platform is available to schools, universities, businesses and governments both in the United States and around the world. STOPit includes a robust incident management system, empowering administrators and management to get in front of issues to mitigate risk and adhere to the ever-evolving compliance landscape. STOPit anonymous reporting empowers individuals to protect themselves and stand up for others online, on social media, in school, in the office, and in the community.

To learn more about STOPit, please visit www.stopitsolutions.com.

Press Contact: Neil Hooper, Chief Revenue Officer; nhooper@stopitsolutions.com

Source: STOPit Solutions

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June 5, 2018