A new panic alarm system saved countless lives during a shooting, officials and advocates say

A new panic alarm system that was activated during Wednesday’s deadly shooting at a Georgia high school likely saved countless lives, officials and technology advocates said.

Lockdown warnings appeared on classroom screens at Apalachee High School as gunshots rang out, prompting students and teachers to lock their doors, turn off the lights and huddle in the far corner from the entrance, witnesses said.

At the same time, alerts were automatically sent to law enforcement officers, who responded and put an end to the shooting within minutes, according to Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith and Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey.

“The protocols at this school and this system activated today prevented this from being a much bigger tragedy,” Hosey said at a news conference Wednesday night.

All Apalachee High School teachers carry photo ID badges and panic buttons that, if pressed repeatedly, will notify authorities of an “active situation” or emergency at the school, Smith said.

“That was pressured,” the sheriff said.

Stephen Kreyenbuhl, a social studies teacher at Apalachee, said the small button is on the back of the badge. If the button is pressed four times, administrators and school resource officers are notified. If the button is pressed eight times, the sheriff’s office is also notified.

Kreyenbuhl, 26, whose classroom was near the gunman, said emergency procedures had already been initiated before he heard the first shots.

He followed protocol and then prepared to defend himself and his students with a pair of scissors in his back pocket or die.

“I definitely felt like death was in the room for a second,” she said. “I accepted the fact that I could die.”

Kreyenbuhl, a third-year teacher, said it was the first time the panic button had been activated at Apalachee, which has been in session since Aug. 1.

Smith said the panic alarm system at Apalachee, powered by Georgia-based security solutions company Centegix, has only been installed at the school for about a week.

Other companies also offer technologies that aim to improve real-time reporting in emergency situations, NBC News previously reported.

Centegix, in particular, is advocating for Alyssa’s Law, a measure passed in seven states and introduced in nine others that would require schools to install silent panic alarms that are directly linked to law enforcement.

The law is named after Alyssa Alhadeff, who was killed during the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The 14-year-old was fatally shot as she tried to hide under a classroom table, her mother said.

Since then, Alyssa’s mother, Lori Alhadeff, has been advocating for ways to make schools safer, including panic buttons.

“I wish it had never had to be used,” she said. “I wish there had never been a school shooting, but I know Alyssa is saving lives. Every time she pushes that panic button, Alyssa is saving lives.”

Authorities said two students and two teachers were killed and nine others were injured in the attack at Apalachee High School, about an hour outside of Atlanta.

The student victims of the shooting were identified as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Math teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, were also killed.

On Thursday, Smith told NBC News that Centegix sent alerts of an active shooter at Apalachee High School to the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office around 10 a.m. Wednesday.

The company also sent authorities the GPS coordinates of the person who triggered the alert, he said.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers were already on campus when the sheriff’s team arrived, Smith said. “When we got there, we basically sprang into action,” he said.

Smith said that within five or six minutes, school resource officers confronted the suspect and took him into custody.

“He was given verbal commands. He dropped the gun and got on the ground,” the sheriff said. “I’m told that six minutes after Centegix first struck the gun, when he was alert, he was already in custody.”

Smith said the county opted to invest in the Centegix system about a year ago, although it was implemented just a week and a half ago.

When a campus-wide alert is initiated, Centegix “notifies 911 dispatch, activates full audiovisual communication and provides precise location details with a map showing who needs help and where they are located,” according to its website.

The technology also has a “staff alert” feature that can be used in the event of medical emergencies or altercations between students.

In a statement, Centegix CEO Brent Cobb said the company is “deeply saddened” by the tragedy. “We remain committed to fostering a culture of safety within schools and working with our partners in law enforcement and emergency management to protect our communities,” Cobb said.

Smith praised Apalachee leaders for following proper protocols during the chaos. “Yesterday they followed them to the letter,” he said. “And because of that, we prevented many, many more deaths.”

Smith said the suspect, Colt Gray, was new to the Barrow County school district. He had enrolled about two weeks ago and allegedly opened fire with an AR-style weapon on his “first real full day” of school, the sheriff said.

“It’s tough emotionally because I feel like Colt Gray moved in here, took advantage of the system and thought he could get away with it and he didn’t,” Smith said. “But he’s an evil person who killed some people.”

Federal authorities said the suspect was investigated last year for making online threats to carry out a school shooting.

He was charged with four counts of felony murder on Thursday and taken to a regional juvenile detention center in Gainesville, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. The agency said additional charges are expected and the suspect is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Friday morning.

Smith said the suspect had been cooperating with authorities and would be charged as an adult.

The latest school shooting is a reminder that every second counts in an emergency, Lori Alhadeff said.

Since 2018, 90 people have died in 35 school shootings, according to NBC News’ tracker, which focuses on the segment of school shootings in which an active shooter, with intent to harm, injures or kills at least one student or staff member during school or at a school event.

“We never thought this would happen where we live,” Alhadeff said. “I know that’s every parent’s biggest fear.”

Alhadeff said Alyssa’s Law decreases the time it takes for first responders to arrive.

Since 2019, New Jersey, Florida, New York, Texas, Tennessee, Utah and Oklahoma have passed the bill. Georgia is one of nine states that have introduced it.

“Time is equal to life,” Alhadeff said. “I know that we have contributed to reducing the number of victims.”