A Startup Is Supplying Drones to High Schools to Stop Mass Shootings

The drones can dart across fields at 100 miles an hour, punch through windows and bowl over assailants. The sleek, black machines aren't destined for battlefields in Ukraine or skies above the Middle East. Instead, they will hurtle through the hallways of high schools in Florida and Georgia. Mithril Defense is deploying fleets of drones -- called "Black Arrows" -- for schools as part of state-funded programs to increase security and reduce gun violence. The machines can screech, flash strobe lights and shoot pepper gel to deter assailants -- while operated by pilots at the company's headquarters in Austin, Texas. Executives from Mithril and law-enforcement officials said the drones could reduce student casualties by reaching attackers faster than police or school-resource officers. "It's revolutionary," said Volusia County Sheriff's Office Capt. Todd Smith, who oversees safety and security for the county's schools in Florida. The drones are expected to be installed in Deltona High School on Monday and be ready for use this fall. "This is the future." Amid heightened concerns over gun violence in schools, companies are marketing an array of new technologies, from AI-powered gun detection tools to wearable panic buttons. Over the past year, police departments across the country have expanded their use of drones, which increasingly function as first responders to a variety of crime scenes. Unlike police drones dispatched after a 911 call, Mithril's machines lie dormant in ceiling-mounted boxes, charging until a threat arrives. Some privacy and policing experts said the technology could be vulnerable to cyberattacks, lead to abuses of force, or divert resources from more effective safety measures. "We have a real mental health crisis in schools, and we could be using the money to deal with that," said Barry Friedman, a law professor and expert on policing at New York University. Eradicating shootings The schools are using Mithril's Campus Guardian Angel system, which combines the use of cheap, lightweight drones with remote monitoring and operations. Mithril, founded in 2023, first tested the concept at an abandoned school in Austin the following year. The company has since conducted dozens of training exercises with law enforcement and actors, using scenarios drawn from past shooting incidents. Using the software tool that powers the videogame Fortnite, Mithril can create 3-D renditions of schools where the drones will be used, giving pilots detailed depictions of classrooms and hallways. In the event of a threat, the drones and their attached cameras can provide real-time surveillance. The drones fly in waves of three, use an encrypted connection and have an average battery life of 10 to 15 minutes. Through an app, local law-enforcement officials can access drone footage and the 3-D school imagery. Mithril's teams will defer to law enforcement in most cases, but they reserve the right to act independently during an attack, executives said. "We can take every corner, we'll swing every door first, because we don't care if we get shot, we're metal and plastic," said Christian Van Sloun, Mithril's chief drone pilot. If his drone is shot down, he can easily turn to his fellow pilot and instruct them on where the shooter is, he said. "It's kind of like cheating in a videogame after you die," he said. The idea for Campus Guardian Angel came from Justin Marston, a British entrepreneur and Mithril co-founder, who saw videos of small Ukrainian drones pestering Russian soldiers with guns. "Our vision is ultimately to be in every school in the nation and to eradicate mass shootings," Marston said. Marston and co-founder Bill King, a former Navy SEAL command master chief, assembled an eclectic team -- veterans from law enforcement and the military, and several of the country's top-ranked drone-racing pilots, including some as young as 18. The company is supplying its technology in Florida and Georgia after the states each approved more than $500,000 for drone operations in schools. A group of parents in Texas have also raised more than $200,000 with the goal of bringing Campus Guardian Angel to a high school near Houston. Drone services are priced at 50 cents a square foot annually, which the company said often works out to around $8 per child a month. Use of force Some experts said the drone technology could result in greater and unwarranted uses of force. "When you make it really easy to use force, zero risk proposition, something you can do remotely sitting in your IT room, then it's going to be overused," said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union. Mithril said its drones will be deployed only during active shooter situations, though Marston acknowledged the potential for students to be inadvertently injured while a drone is in use. "We believe we can help in the vast majority of these mass shootings," he said. Mithril isn't the first company to try to supply drones for school security. In 2022, Axon Enterprise began work on Taser-equipped drone systems to address mass shootings, but the company later scrapped its plans after its ethics advisory board objected to the project. Law-enforcement officials and company executives said they consulted with numerous parents before approving the technology. "To find out that we're one of the first ones to get this pilot program was a little nerve-racking at first," said Jessica Clayton, whose two children attend Deltona High School. "But at the same time, you have to start somewhere, and I'm hoping this can be a positive influence for the community." Mithril wants to expand beyond schools to become the go-to security force for entities from private companies to government agencies. The company said it is conducting demonstrations for oil and gas, finance and retail companies.