Guardian works and includes testimonials from the Methuen Mayor, Chief of Police, and Rick Stanley, retired NEMLEC SWAT Commander who was a first responder at the 2000 shooting at Edgewater Technology in Massachusetts.
Shooter Detection Systems Demonstrates Guardian Technology at Event in Methuen – Partnerships with Police, Schools, Government on Display with Live Drill
METHUEN, Mass – Shooter Detection Systems LLC (SDS) today conducted a live active shooter police drill to showcase the benefits of its Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System, which has been installed and brought online in one of the City of Methuen’s public schools.
Drawing upon the same concepts and necessities that brought automated fire alarms to public schools in the 1940s, Guardian’s well-researched system uses a state-of-the art audio and visual sensor network to instantly detect the location of a gunshot inside of a building and immediately alert police and school officials.
“Today we demonstrated the Guardian System’s ability to immediately detect a shot fired inside a school and alert the proper authorities and school officials. If this had been an actual emergency situation, the school could have automatically initiated their evacuation and lockdown procedures, and many lives could have been saved,” said Christian Connors, Chief Executive Officer of SDS.
Tuesday’s event in Methuen was the culmination of a program to install a fully-functional Guardian system in one of its schools, and it continues the city’s long history of proactive efforts against school violence.
“In the 1990s we began creating safety plans for our schools that include emergency evacuation and lockdown criteria, and by 2002, we had already started training our school resource officers and patrol force on school violence crisis response procedures, but there was always the added danger of an active shooter, roaming a large and complex building, which officers then had to search, room-by-room,” said Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon. “With Shooter Detection Systems’ Guardian, our officers know exactly where the shooter is, how many shots were fired, and if the shooter is moving to different areas of the building. It would save several minutes in a real-life situation, and that could mean dozens of lives saved.”
Judith Scannell, Superintendent of Schools in Methuen said: “Safety is the primary concern for all superintendents of schools. I am pleased to be the first school system in the nation to have this innovative new system.”
The event was attended by a wide variety of law enforcement and government officials, including Chiefs of Police from across New England, and police officers from as far away as New Jersey and New Hampshire.
Also in attendance were Congresswoman Niki Tsongas. “Children have a right to go to school in a safe environment. It is all of our responsibility to ensure that our schools are safe sanctuaries for learning,” Congresswoman Tsongas said. “Our schools are equipped with smoke detectors in the unlikely event of a fire. The technology developed by Shooter Detection Systems is in effect an alarm system for gunfire. As a Member of the House Armed Services Committee in Congress, I am familiar with the underlying technology that is in this sensor system. It is the same technology that has been deployed over 10,000 times in Iraq and Afghanistan to detect and identify gunfire directed at our troops. It is a proven technology that has saved many American Soldier’s lives.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]