ZeroEyes AI system flags clarinet as gun, triggers school lockdown in Florida
A ZeroEyes AI surveillance system deployed at a Florida middle school mistakenly flagged a clarinet held by a costumed student as a weapon, triggering a police response and school lockdown. The incident illustrates concerns from school safety experts that threat detection systems are prone to false alarms and unproven in their effectiveness.
What happened
A student at Lawton Chiles Middle School in Oviedo, Florida wore a military costume for a themed dress-up day and held a clarinet positioned like a shouldered rifle. The ZeroEyes AI surveillance system flagged the clarinet as a suspected weapon and alerted police.
Police responded and placed the school into lockdown. An officer searched classrooms but found no threat. Dispatchers noted upon closer review that the suspected rifle might have been a band instrument. The officer found the student in the band room with the clarinet.
Reported impact
The school went into lockdown, with students hiding in classrooms. The incident created unnecessary stress and suspicion among the school community.
Index analysis
ZeroEyes co-founder Sam Alaimo stated the student was holding the musical instrument like a rifle and said the company did not believe it made an error. Alaimo said it was better to dispatch police than not dispatch.
School safety and privacy experts said the incident is part of a trend in which threat detection systems used by schools misfire, putting students under undue suspicion and stress. David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, noted these are unproven technologies marketed as providing certainty and security.
Governance controls
ZeroEyes stated that trained employees review alerts before they are sent to law enforcement. The company said its software can make a lifesaving difference by alerting law enforcement to weapons on campus within seconds.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.