Beyond Politics: Technology - A Rational Alternative to Prevent School Shootings

Abstract

Centuries ago, guns were a necessity as they served important purposes in self-defense against wild animals and the frontier. While our society has progressed and eliminated that threat, these dangerous firearms still roam around the streets. AR-15s and other rifle-style weapons are commonplace. In 2023 alone, there have been 175 mass shootings, with over 240 dead and over 700 injured. Some of these end up in school shootings, taking innocent young lives. It starts with firearms falling into the wrong hands of mentally unstable people, mostly adolescents (CDC, 2020). No meaningful legislation has been made, and the problem of mass shootings remains unsolved. Despite the advent of new and more powerful technology, it is deplorable that it is not being used to solve such critical problems. The purpose of this paper is to describe a device that has the potential of stopping school shootings. The proposed device can alert law enforcement and other responsible parties when a firearm is in the vicinity of sensitive areas. The device uses elements of tracking and detection, early alerts, and deterrence. In the initial trials, the device was able to send alert messages to a cell phone when it detected a school inside a specified distance. Preliminary results indicate that the approach will work in real life. While this device can be used in a variety of sensitive locations, the primary focus is on schools, as that is dear to my heart as a high schooler. This paper entails a technological solution that is an add-on to the existing firearms and can be integrated in the design of future guns as well.