Apalachee school shooting: State of security at Barrow County Schools in wake of tragedy

BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — Georgia-based security company Centegix’s Crisis Alert system is used at about 12,000 schools across the United States, mainly for K-12 institutions.

Centegix Crisis Alert system was the panic button used at Apalachee High School during its recent deadly shooting to alert members of law enforcement that an emergency was underway and students and staff were in danger.

On Friday, Centegix told Channel 2 Action News that the system they’d equipped staff and teachers with was provided a short time before the shooting happened. They also shared their condolences for the losses during the Sept. 4 deadly shooting.

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In a statement, Centegix said they were “saddened by the events at Apalachee High School and extend our sympathies to the Barrow County community after this terrible incident” and were grateful that emergency personnel were so responsive.

Detailing their involvement with schools they service in Georgia, Centegix said their work with the Georgia Emergency Management Authority includes safety plans developed by the state agency for coordinated emergency responses.

Additionally, the company said their safety platform is used to speed up emergency responses by “minimizing the time to identify, notify and respond to an emergency.”

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The steps their platform uses are:

• Identify: The single button on a wearable badge makes it simple to initiate a call for help. Every staff member is empowered with a CrisisAlert badge, which is the fastest and easiest way for staff to request help in a moment of crisis.
• Notify: We have learned from prior tragedies that those behind a locked door or hard surface have a 96% survival rate. To notify everyone on campus as soon as possible to get to safety, we deliver visual notification through strobes, provide a screen display takeover, and deliver audio messages through direct integration with intercom systems. Notifications are delivered automatically and immediately when an emergency is identified without requiring manual intervention.
• Respond: We provide the precise room and floor-level location information of all who request help, by delivering a detailed map of the facility, along with corresponding safety and security assets.

At Apalachee High School, the Barrow County School District said they are still working to determine when the school will reopen, though students and staff were able to return to school to collect their belongings beginning Sept. 9.

The school district also said that in the wake of the tragedy, they have “implemented several immediate security measures, including increasing school resource officers’ (SROs) and Georgia State Patrol officers’ presence on campuses. We’ll evaluate long-term plans with input from local, state and federal law enforcement.”

Some schools in Barrow County are also limiting visitors at this time, officials said. The district is still discussing possible additional prevention and security strategies, which they plan to release details about later on.

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