Drones to fight school shooters? One US company says yes

Company says drone would spray pepper gel instead of shooting the suspect with a bullet or a projectile

AFP

Updated Friday May 15 2026

A new idea for combatting America’s horrific problem of school shootings is to unleash an unarmed drone to confront the attacker, like a giant buzzing insect.

It is the brainchild of a company called Campus Guardian Angel, which has pilot programmes using the technology in Georgia and Florida, with growing interest in Texas. These drones have not yet been battle-tested, however.

The approach seems to reflect that part of America which says the way to address recurrent school shootings — part of the country’s broader gun violence epidemic — is not with stricter gun control laws but rather with weaponry, such as giving teachers guns.

A drone is seen during a demonstration on how to neutralise a shooter at a school, at the headquarters of the startup Campus Guardian Angel,on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.— AFP

The company says the new approach would work like this: when a potential shooter enters a school, a teacher hits an alarm on their cell phone to alert the police and as officers rush to the scene, a drone is activated from a pre-established position inside the school as a first line of defence.

A pilot checks a drone during a demonstration of a school shooter take down, at the headquarters of the startup Campus Guardian Angel on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.— AFP

These small, black, roughly square drones weighing about two pounds (one kilo) are piloted by humans in the Texas state capital Austin and can actually buzz around inside the school by navigating 3D maps that Campus Guardian Angel will have made beforehand.

Khristof Oborski, director of tactical operations at Campus Guardian Angel, shows a picture on his cell phone of a drone firing tear gas at a mannequin during, a demonstration on how to neutralize a shooter at a school, at the headquarters of the startup Campus Guardian Angel on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.— AFP

The drones do not shoot bullets or any other kind of projectile.

Rather, they are designed to disable the attacker by flying right into him or her or spraying them with pepper gel.

A staff member at the startup Campus Guardian Angel, is seen in the room where drones are manufactured at the companys headquarters, on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.— AFP — A staff member at the startup Campus Guardian Angel, is seen in the room where drones are manufactured at the company's headquarters, on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.— AFP

Khristof Oborski, Campus Guardian Angel’s director of tactical operations, said the firm’s CEO Bill King observed that small drones were highly effective in attacks on the battlefield in the war in Ukraine.

"So he started thinking about how can you introduce this type of system to be able to combat a growing problem in the United States, with school shootings," Oborski said.

Drones fly around a mannequin during a demonstration on how to neutralise a shooter in a school, at the headquarters of the startup Campus Guardian Angel on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.— AFP

Oborski explained that what the drone actually does depends on what the shooter or potential shooter does.

If a child with a gun is walking in a school corridor, the drone has two-way radio so human operators can talk to the attacker and try to persuade him or her to put down the weapon, Oborski said.

A drone fires inert gas at a mannequin, during a demonstration on how to neutralize a shooter in a school, held at the headquarters of the startup Campus Guardian Angel on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.— AFP

The operators are in constant contact with police so officers can, say, be guided to where the attacker is.

If the assailant is actually shooting people, "we go straight to either kinetic impacts or we use our less lethal JPX pepper gel on the suspect," Oborski said.

In 2025, US schools endured 233 incidents involving firearms, according to a data base called IntelliSee.

Pilots operate drones during a demonstration of a school shooter take down, at the headquarters of the startup Campus Guardian Angel on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas. — AFP

One of the worst recent school shootings was in Uvalde, Texas in 2022, with 19 children and two teachers shot and killed. It took police 77 minutes to move in close enough to kill the attacker.

'To be the nerd'

Campus Guardian Angel offers its services with yearly contracts, the fee depending on the size of the school and how many buildings it has.

Besides the pilot programmes in Florida and Georgia, the company says some parents in Houston are interested in getting the drones set up in their kids’ schools.

A mannequin falls after being struck by a drone during a demonstration on how to neutralise a shooter at a school, at the headquarters of the startup Campus Guardian Angel on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.— AFP

"The best-case scenario is we put this in every single school in America and then never have to use it, right? Because it’s got a deterrent quality to it," said King, a former Navy Seal.

A staff member works on a drones printed circuit board in the drone manufacturing room, at the headquarters of the startup Campus Guardian Angel, on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas. — AFP — A staff member works on a drone's printed circuit board in the drone manufacturing room, at the headquarters of the startup Campus Guardian Angel, on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas. — AFP

He said he is often asked if the drones are operated by artificial intelligence and the answer is no, which King said people find reassuring.

Alex Campbell, a 30-year-old operator in this system and professional drone-racing competitor, describes himself as more of a nerd than a soldier.

"To be the nerd behind the scenes, to help the heroes on this Earth saving us from the bad things happening, it’s really fulfilling to be able to have a hand in that," Campbell said.