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- Gun-detection technology by ZeroEyes has been installed in more than 200 Utah schools with more to get it.
- The technology integrates with existing security camera systems to detect guns.
- Installation of the software is contemplated in Utah legislation aimed at bolstering school safety and security.
OGDEN — Technology aimed at helping Utah school officials detect the presence of guns on their campuses has been installed at schools in numerous districts around the state, and it's coming to more schools.
"We are implemented throughout the state of Utah," said Rob Huberty, chief operating officer and co-founder at ZeroEyes, a Philadelphia-based firm that manages the gun-detection technology. "We're installing in more schools all over the place, so, on a daily basis, we're going to different schools."
Installation of the gun-detection software in Utah to safeguard against gun violence in schools, shopping malls and other places where it's used is contemplated in HB61. That's the multi-pronged measure passed by the Utah Legislature in 2023 aimed at bolstering safety and security in Utah schools.
As of July, ZeroEyes reported its technology was in more than 200 Utah schools. The efforts garnered new attention this week when Ogden School District officials sent a notice to parents about a planned testing of the technology this month.
"The test will involve a representative from ZeroEyes, wearing a safety vest and carrying an Airsoft rifle and an Airsoft pistol," meant to be visible to security cameras inside and outside an unspecified number of Ogden schools, the notice reads. "Please rest assured, this is only a controlled test and part of our efforts to enhance school safety measures. If you happen to see this activity, there is no cause for alarm."
Ogden School District spokesman Jer Bates confirmed plans are in the works to install the gun-detection technology at the system's schools, per HB84, a 2024 measure approved by Utah lawmakers, also aimed at augmenting school safety. But he wouldn't say much more due to restrictions in state law that limit what school officials can do about security.
"I can tell you that, yes, it is our intention to add (ZeroEyes technology) to schools. It's part of being in compliance with HB84," Bates said.
Huberty said ZeroEyes software is actually already installed in some Ogden schools. The company's July 11 press release says it had been installed in schools in the Cache County, Carbon, Grand County, Juab, North Summit, South Summit, Provo, Wasatch and Waterford school districts, among others. Reps from Salt Lake City-based AEGIX, partnering with ZeroEyes, said in August 2023 that the firm had received a $3 million contract from the Utah State Board of Education to implement the software.
'The right place at the right time'
The gun-detection technology is used in conjunction with individual schools' existing security camera systems, with the software capable of detecting guns using video surveillance. Security camera systems aren't typically monitored by humans all of the time, and if the technology detects a suspected gun via the video stream, an alert is sent to ZeroEyes operations centers, where experts review the imagery. "So, it is visual gun detection, so the gun has to be out. It cannot be concealed," Huberty said.
The experts review the alerts, verify if a gun is present, and, if so, relay the information to 911 centers, school resource officers and others so they can take on-the-ground action. The detection and confirmation process can take a matter of seconds and the technology also specifies where the suspect image was taken.
"If the school resource officer is on-site, maybe they're 30 to 60 seconds away from anywhere in the building. They're going to see an image, the picture that we see, and they're going to see an application," Huberty said. "So they could be at the right place at the right time with the right equipment."
The technology has been installed inside schools, shopping centers, health care facilities and businesses in at least 43 states and, so far, led to "thousands of detections" of guns — though some have been of law enforcement officers' weapons. The software hasn't thwarted an active shooter so far, but it has resulted in 30-plus arrests of suspects on gun-related offenses, including some of students on school grounds.
"We've seen, in municipalities, people using guns in parking lots. We've seen people walking through subways with guns that shouldn't have had it. We've seen people misusing weapons," Huberty said.
Huberty, a ZeroEyes co-founder, said the idea for the firm sprang from the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. The gun used by the gunman had been visible on school security video long before the shooting started, Huberty said, but no one had been monitoring the feed.
"So we said, we're going to build this company. We're just going to look for guns. We're going to watch 24/7," he said.
