A Florida school went into lockdown after AI flagged a clarinet as a gun

A false alarm at a middle school renews questions over the accuracy of these systems

by · TechSpot

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Ripple effect: An AI – based weapon detection system mistakenly triggered a campus lockdown at a Florida middle school after identifying a clarinet as a firearm, raising doubts about the effectiveness and oversight of this kind of security tools in US schools. The false alarm occurred on Tuesday at Lawton Chiles Middle School in Oviedo, when the automated system interpreted a student carrying a clarinet as a potential gun threat. The school entered a code red lockdown as administrators and police responded to what turned out to be a musical instrument.

In a message to parents, principal Melissa Laudani explained that the incident had prompted safety protocols but involved no actual threat. She wrote: "While there was no threat to campus, I'd like to ask you to speak with your student about the dangers of pretending to have a weapon on a school campus."

The school uses an AI-driven threat detection platform that scans live video feeds for firearms. Seminole County Public Schools, the district encompassing Lawton Chiles Middle, has contracted with Pennsylvania-based ZeroEyes for what it calls a cloud-based "gun detection deterrent" system. Public records show the district pays $250,000 for the subscription service, though officials have declined to disclose whether the system has ever successfully foiled an actual threat.

ZeroEyes integrates with existing surveillance cameras and employs computer vision algorithms trained on images of more than 100 firearm types. When its AI model believes it has detected a weapon, footage is transmitted to human analysts at ZeroEyes' monitoring center, who confirm the alert before notifying law enforcement or schools. In this instance, that extra human layer apparently failed.

The company's platform is active in 43 states and is installed across dozens of Florida school districts. ZeroEyes markets its technology as a preventive measure allowing faster response to possible shootings, but it has released little public data about detection accuracy, false-positive rates, or verified interventions.

Seminole County's safety and security division, responding to reporters' emailed questions about the AI, described it as an effective deterrent but gave no figures on confirmed threats, leaving unanswered how many alerts have proven legitimate or how frequently the software misidentifies harmless objects as weapons.

Parents and security experts have begun calling for greater accountability and access to performance data. One parent expressed frustration over the lack of transparency, questioning whether the system has delivered meaningful results. She wanted statistical evidence of the system's effectiveness and asked why, if any, confirmed threats were not publicly reported.

Independent technology analysts note that few independent evaluations of ZeroEyes exist, and early coverage has been mixed. Reports have cited skepticism from some public safety specialists who argue such systems may offer an illusion of security rather than measurable reductions in risk.

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In several states where ZeroEyes has registered lobbyists, lawmakers have passed procurement measures that effectively lock in the company as the only approved vendor. Critics say those laws crowd out competitors and short-circuit public debate on the reliability of AI-based monitoring.

Security and privacy researchers have raised concerns that expanding AI surveillance in schools could harm students more than it helps. Chad Marlow, a senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, told StateScop last year that systems that generate frequent false alarms may create "false senses of security" and expose children to unnecessary lockdowns or policing.

While AI-enabled security systems have proliferated in response to public pressure over school shootings, the Oviedo misfire illustrates their vulnerabilities under real-world conditions. Machine learning models trained to detect threats in controlled datasets can falter when faced with unpredictable school environments, where backpacks, instruments, and sports equipment can resemble firearm silhouettes.

For now, the Seminole County School District describes the system as an essential precaution, even as the clarinet incident demonstrates its fallibility. Whether districts will reconsider their reliance on AI surveillance – or demand stricter performance reporting from vendors – remains uncertain.