Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith credited emergency alert technology Centegix for alerting first responders to the mass shooting at Apalachee High School so quickly on Wednesday.
The credit card-sized ID is worn on a lanyard with a button that staff can press to covertly and immediately alert the school, other teachers and law enforcement about health or safety issues.
“Centegix alarms us and alerts the law enforcement officers after a button is pressed on the ID,” said Smith at a press conference late Wednesday night. “It alerts us that there’s an active situation at a school. That was pressed. We’ve had that for about a week now.”
Centegix is an Atlanta-based campus safety technology company.
Law enforcement responded to the Centegix alert after a 14-year-old male student opened fire at the high school Wednesday morning. The teen surrendered to law enforcement officers and as of Thursday morning, was detained at the Gainesville Youth Regional Detention Center.
Four people were killed, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey, including students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and instructors Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.
Nine other people were injured and taken to hospitals. They are expected to make full recoveries.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Atlanta Division said that it “received several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time” in May 2023.
The agency said it traced the online post to Georgia and relayed the information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s office. Jackson County neighbors Barrow County, where Wednesday’s shooting happened.
The sheriff’s office interviewed a boy and his father but found no probable cause to take any additional action. That boy is the same one that is now in custody.
Centegix’ website lists many school systems around Georgia that use the technology: Dougherty County School System, Clayton County Public Schools, Coweta County School System, Cherokee County School District and Henry County Schools among others.
Metro Atlanta schools have also piloted or implemented Centegix, including Gwinnett County last year, which spent $7 million to implement the system.
Centegix is one of the preferred providers for campus security solutions for the entire state of Florida, which requires a silent emergency alert system connecting schools and law enforcement as enshrined in Alyssa’s Law.
Alyssa’s Law is named after Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, who was killed in the 2018 mass shooting.
Georgia lawmakers considered implementing Alyssa’s Law this legislative session. The bill did not make it out of committee during the session, but the state does require all schools to implement school safety plans.
