On a sunlit morning in Grapevine, Texas, the whirring of drones above a test dummy marked another chapter in America’s ongoing struggle to keep schools safe. The demonstration, staged outside the National School Safety Conference, was meant to showcase a new technology: drones designed to intercept and disable would-be school shooters. “We use drones to stop school shootings,” explained Justin Marston, CEO of Campus Guardian Angel, the company behind the innovation, according to NPR. These drones, piloted remotely from within the school, can fire pepper balls and even crash into a shooter in an attempt to incapacitate them.
This demonstration was just one among many at the conference, where the grim reality of school shootings has become a catalyst for a booming industry. Since the Columbine tragedy in 1999, there have been more than 400 school shootings in the United States, as reported by The Washington Post. The most recent, a harrowing attack at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on August 27, 2025, left two children dead and 21 others wounded. The aftermath of such violence has fueled a market for school security products now worth as much as $4 billion, a figure projected to keep climbing, according to market research firm Omdia.
Inside the bustling expo hall at the National School Safety Conference, vendors offered a dizzying array of products: panic buttons, bullet-resistant whiteboards, facial recognition systems, trauma kits, and even firearms. “Being prepared and having these devices in the schools is essential,” said Sarah McNeeley, a sales manager with SAM Medical, who noted that trauma kits—once reserved for EMTs and military medics—are now increasingly purchased by school districts. “Some people want to put their heads in the sand and pretend like it’s not going to happen to them.”
But as the school security industry thrives, some experts are raising red flags about its effectiveness. “The school safety and security industry has grown rapidly over the past decade,” said Sonali Rajan, senior director at Everytown for Gun Safety’s research arm. “The challenge right now is that these school safety products, the vast majority, have absolutely no evidence guiding their effectiveness.”
Tom McDermott, representing metal detector manufacturer CEIA USA, expressed mixed feelings about the growth in business. “It’s not right. We need to solve this problem. It’s good for business, but we don’t need to be selling to schools,” he told NPR.
The conference, organized by the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), also focused on training police officers stationed in schools. These officers, known as school resource officers, are tasked with a complex job. “We’re asking a lot of that officer. We’re asking them to be the best tactical person their department could offer,” said Mo Canady, NASRO’s executive director. “We’re asking them to be the best informal counselor.” For officers like Sarah Mendoza of Yoakum, Texas, the most meaningful part of the job is forging connections with students. “My connection with the kids is so important because they’re the ones who are going to come and tell me, ‘Hey Mendoza, this is what’s going on. Can you help us?’ or ‘Hey Mendoza, this is how I’m feeling today. What can I do to make myself better?’”
While high-tech gadgets and security measures attract attention, gun violence experts stress that the real solutions are often less flashy. “We’re spending billions of dollars that could be going to mental health or counselors, all the stuff that we know creates inclusion,” said Jillian Peterson, who leads the Violence Prevention Project Research Center at Hamline University. She emphasized that most school shooters are current or former students, often in crisis and suicidal. Key prevention strategies, she argued, include safe firearm storage and investing in school communities that foster emotional support and trust. “I think it preys on people’s worst fears,” Peterson remarked about the allure of security products. “How do you say no to something if you’re telling me it might save my kid’s life? Of course I want that thing.”
The urgency of these debates was underscored by a chilling incident in Pierce County, Washington, just days before the conference. On September 6, 2025, police arrested a 13-year-old boy after receiving a tip about his “school shooter ideations” and threats to kill. According to ABC News and The Guardian, deputies searching his home found a staggering arsenal: 23 firearms, many of them homemade long guns crafted with 3D-printed parts, along with loaded magazines inscribed with references to infamous massacres like Columbine. Authorities also seized disturbing writings that outlined “mass shooting scenarios,” clothing linked to his alleged plans, and materials for fireworks and explosives.
Deputy Carly Cappetto of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office described the findings as “a large quantity” of both secured and unsecured weapons, painting a textbook picture of “school shooter planning.” The teen, who had not been enrolled in any school district since 2021, had posted photos of himself with guns on social media since June, expressing fascination with mass casualty attacks such as the 2022 Uvalde, Texas, school shooting. “Several pieces of evidence from the suspect’s bedroom indicated he was obsessed with past school shooters and imitated similar behaviors with photos and inscriptions throughout his room,” Cappetto stated in a news release. “It appeared the suspect had everything ready to go to commit a mass shooting type of incident. It is unknown who or what the intended target was going to be, but it’s clear it was a matter of time before a tragic incident occurred.”
The boy, whose name has not been released, pleaded not guilty to five charges—four of them felonies—in juvenile court on Monday, September 8, 2025. His parents, who have not been charged, insisted he had no intention of harming anyone. His mother told KOMO-TV that the social media posts were an attempt to “be cool” among peers. The Franklin Pierce School District, where the boy was last enrolled, issued a statement affirming its cooperation with law enforcement to ensure community safety.
Meanwhile, the Minneapolis community continues to grapple with the aftermath of the Annunciation Catholic School shooting. Less than two weeks after the tragedy, preschool resumed at the school. Nearly 20 preschool students and their parents returned to class on September 8, 2025, a testament to resilience in the face of heartbreak. School staff and their spouses engaged in “collective healing work” at the campus. “It’s so important that we stay together, that we stay in this,” said principal Matthew DeBoer in a “chapel chat” video. “Because right now, we’re doing really well at doing community, and we want to stay that way together.”
The sense of loss is still raw. On September 7, more than a thousand mourners attended the funeral for 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, one of the two children killed. A celebration of life for 10-year-old Harper Moyski, the other victim, is planned for September 14 at the Lake Harriet Band Shell in Minneapolis.
As schools reopen and communities mourn, the nation is left to wrestle with the same, stubborn questions: Are high-tech security measures enough? Can the next tragedy be prevented by a drone, a locked door, or a trauma kit? Or does the real work lie in building trust, providing mental health support, and addressing the root causes of violence? For now, the debate—and the search for answers—continues.
