Smoke Screen Company Thinks It Has The Perfect Defense Against School Shooters

The crazy might be use this as an enhancement for a mass shooting on a rampage, plus make it harder for the authorities to take down the bad guy.

Not sure this would enhance their ability to kill more people but it would make it hard as hell for authories to take him/her down. I used something similar to these and they do white out everything. You cant see your hand in front of your face. ThermoFog Generator's was what i used. If the do go with something like this maybe they could have kind of audio system which turns it on when it hears gun shots. Just a thought.

NO. The perfect defense is this:

http://www.businessinsider.com/maul-long-range-taser-2011-7

Why?

For all these reasons and more:

1) These 'defensive only' guns are designed to incapacitate bad people--not kill them. This allows schools to paralyze the offending fiends and disarm them before they do further harm.

2) The guns won't kill innocent bystanders (our children in the schools) in the CROSSFIRE. Everyone knows crossfire can kill as many innocents as the fiend(s) who sought to kill in the first place. These will prevent that. Of course there is always the potential for harm but it's dramatically lowered.

3) Disarming the fiends allows society to pick the brains of captured mass-murderers instead of being in the dark why the fiends did it and then later commit suicide as they usually do before being captured.

4) The guns -- if stolen--CANNOT be used as a mass murderer weapon by those that would steal the 'defensive' weapons--unlike typical 'offensive' guns (especially large clip semi-automatics) which CAN be used against others (especially on the black market). The TASER clips (which hold 5 projectiles) are not sold to the general public so once discharged cannot be used again--basically making them a disposable defensive weapon only.

5) Having trained school personnel that are familiar with these STUN guns with training on using them and then having 3 or 4 of these per school would allow multiple SIMULTANEOUS defenses against an assailant and a better chance of stopping them compared to just ONE security personnel . Most security personnel are uniformed and they are usually the FIRST target of any would be mass-murderer.

6) The costs would be lower than hiring a full-time security personnel (and far cheaper than multiple security personnel) and the response by properly trained and equipped school personnel would be FASTER than the local police responses and Swat teams (obviously since there at the scene).

7) The implementation of a nationwide program utilizing these defensive weapons would provide a substantial check on fiends thinking of committing mass-murders as they know there is a good chance that nearby personnel could stop them in their tracks. And this not only includes at our schools--but at theaters, stadiums, churches, etc.

8) These also would be a deterrence to terrorists because if they are everywhere then they know they can be stopped just like the good Americans who stopped the terrorists on flight 91.

Why more emphasis is not put into thinking about HOW TO DEFEND against these sick people instead of preventing them from getting weapons which is impossible is beyond me.

There is something seriously amiss with this country and it's way of thinking.

The smoke will just incapacitate the good guys as well as the bad guys and allow indiscriminate 'random shooting' in every direction which is sure to hit someone.

Better to take the action to the aggressor with incapacitating shock defensive weapons.

Anyone notice that every mass shooting in the U.S. since 1950, except one, took place in a no-guns zone? Wonder why the killers, who took a lot of time to plan ahead, picked those targets?

The Facts About Assault Weapons And Crime (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323468604578245803845796068.html

Mass murderers don't target places where people may be packing heat. You post a sign at your school entrance that says "Several members of our staff are trained in the use of firearms and have concealed weapons permits" and I guarantee you will never have a mass shooting there. Even if none of them have ever held a gun.

It's time that the states that don't allow it yet get serious about encouraging responsible people (i.e.; trained and registered) to carry concealed weapons and get rid of no-guns zones. Or at least don't advertise the no-guns zones.

I actually agree with that concept. Non lethal weapons fullfill the needs of a gun rights activist. It's covered under the 2nd Amendment, and allows private citizens the right to defend themselves in a non-lethal way against lethal and non-lethal aggression.

I get that people want more fire arms to kill "bad people." But that's not answer that will curb violence. More violence begets more violence. Non-lethal weapons can send a better message than a closed fist on a loose jaw, or an open nose. Plus, no one dies from it. Anyone acting illegally can be properly prosecuted by the full extent of the law.

As for countermeasures to throw off would be aggressors, the idea is sound so long as there is technology available that would allow authorities to properly respond to a situation (i.e. infra-red goggles for smoke screens). Tighter security restrictions wouldn't hurt either. Most inner city schools already have police working on campus at the senior high school level. They just need to have enough to act as positive access barriers to potential hostiles.

laurenra7,
This is why I have a tiny, but clear sign on my mail box and front door window, "I believe in the right to beer arms!"

bear, not beer, lol... snort...

I believe in the right to keep a six pack in the fridge, lol....

If gunfire isn't enough to induce panic in children, a blinding fog should do the trick.

Put armed guards in the schools. Arm the teachers.

This will just lead to one more way a deviant kid starts a panic.

robot and jessicowhite, similar dvices that have been demonstrated use a 'smoke' that permits clear vision within a specific range of light wavelengths. The Achilles heel of this type of system would be the bad guys knowing those wavelengths before hand or having tunable eyewear that could perform a 'brute force' penetration - much as a hacker might try as they sought to gain unauthorized entry to a specific network.

A gunman is far more likely to be prepared for a chaotic situation than kids. This will only serve to keep kids who are lost in the mayhem from finding an exit quickly until the shooter stumbles onto them. I can picture many scenarios where smoke would do much more harm than good.

I have young children in school. And I support our second amendment rights to gun ownership. Like all other Constitutional principles, it is there principally to protect us from our own government, not from other citizens. Hard to protect yourself against your government if you just have pea shooters against their assault weapons. Just ask the Syrians, though tankfully they aren't going up against a government that is nearly as well-armed or advanced as ours. But anyways, this is another matter.

In my children's school I would prefer to have a sealed security office with 1-2 highly trained, well-paid, well-armed security officers. The weapons in the security office would be locked in a secure box in the office, and once the guard opens that box, the school-wide alarm sounds and the lockdown procedures go into place. The officers would be randomly rotated daily in the area, to help prevent a situation where an officer is pressured (by say, his family being threatened) to not intervene. The security office would have access to cameras that cover many areas inside and outside the school. In the event of a shooter (or a crazed attacker using any weapon), this would provide the following benefits:

1- He would likely be able to see the attacker coming, and thus sound the alarm before any/many can be harmed. Doors in the school should be reinforced (like in cockpits) and typically would be locked until a teacher let a student into the room. This would severely slow/stop the rate at which an attacker could get at students in a classroom.

2- Sounding the alarm early would give responders several minutes of extra time to arrive, rather than waiting for the first panicked cell phone calls in the confusion. It would also give the responders an idea of how many attackers there are, and how they are armed. The building's camera feeds would also be available to arriving responders, so they can asses threats and engage more quickly.

3- The security guard would be able to open the weapons lockbox in the security office, and immediately respond to the threat with equal/superior force. In most mass shootings we've seen in recent decades, when an attacker is confronted by equal/superior force, he often takes his own life. Other times it slows/stops the attacker from getting at more victims.

That's what I would want at my kids' schools. I think it could probably cost $50,000-$100,000 to set up (depending on the size of the school and other details) and then about $75,000 a year to staff.

I feel that even if somehow every gun in the world were magically caused to disappear today, you'd just have people choose a different weapon. It is fairly easy to build an extremely deadly explosive device with household chemicals. If crazies don't have access to guns, they'll find the allure of bombs. Or poison gas, or ricin in the school lunch, or... you get the point. I feel that the problem isn't that people have the tools to kill each other, as much as it is that they WANT to kill each other. But that's for another day.

Perhaps what we need is T2 back and one in every school.

His job (before he joins Skynet)?? To protect our children in the school.

That goes double for bullies......

The best offense is a good defense. Schools have almost none. But a smoke screen causes too many problems. I still say the best defense is special incapacitating stun guns. Since you don't need full-time 'Swat' teams to use them any of the teachers or administration can be trained to use them and keep 4 or 5 in each school cost far less than security teams. And any bad guy is going for the security teams first and so they are ineffective just as they are in banks. Arming a half dozen administration with stun guns means a lot more defenders at the scene AT THE TIME of the incidence more quickly to disarm the offending killer. Why is this so hard to understand Americans?

infra-red goggles would bypass these and make an attacker feel clever in the process.

How to stop a MAD man with an automatic weapons or intention to do massive harm? I believe it is best to identify the mad man or the person with social behaviors, then limit them to any type of weapons and keep an constant eye on the mentally disturb.

There are all kinds of homemade weapons and bombs, so removing them from the public will not help.

We just need to care for our mentally disturb better!

I think a better idea might be to decrease response time. If you have a system in the school that can recognize suspicious behavior, and or gunfire then it could alert the authorities. Plus have a remote lethal/non-lethal response robot on site, that the police can access if a situation develops. The police can respond with lethal or non lethal force as warranted almost immediately.

.... and everyone saved will have wrinkle free cloths!

Nice!

Thermal / infrared imaging can't see through fog. Stop playing video games.

@Frostiken

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz0Ee8hFudY

Institutional archeteture is either cinder block or sheetrock on steel studs on the interior walls. Reinforcing the latter with high density foam would provide decent protection from anything smaller than a 12ga slug. Add to this boltable solid oak doors (or steel with foam fill but that might create the wrong asthetic), and you have a fairly safe place. Put strobe lights and sirines in the hallways to disorient an attacker. As long as the schools do the lock down drills, this would keep the casualty count to single digits-at worst, if things go according to drill/plan you would have 0 innocent deaths.
This would cost appx. $200/classroom ($100/door, $100 for foam, assuming savings for buying in bulk). $100k for schools with less than 500 classrooms.

hmm... spam from people trying to sell stuff and political hardcores waving their various flags.

Not ONE of these comments actually even talks about the particular technology. I conclude no one actually cares about the issue of protecting schools. The only interest anyone here has is making money or political hay.

I cordially invite you to go sit on something sharp. Every last one of you.

Speaking of the current technoloyg, I do not believe it would work succesfully and when installed would come at a high cost.

................................

While there a few plastic type weapons out there, the majority are mostly metal. Hence put metal\weapons detectors at the entry door and force the person who enters the school to check in too, trapped in a foyer, prior to being allowed further entry!

All others who belong on the school grounds will be issued an ID badge to enter a pin code and then swipe prior to entry into the school. These people too, will need to pass the metal detector. They can entery one person at a time by a full size turn style, which are commonly manufactored. All this technology is all ready available.

Oh, for the pin code number, do not use all or part of your social security number; in many cases this legal wrong and or should not be encouraged.

Welcome to military zone elementry school entry.

What a strange sad world we are becoming for the need to protect our babies..... sad sigh.

Hi there,
We just wanted to say that when we released our information, we wanted to create debate, spark conversation and think about some alternatives – well, it kinda looks like we did that.
We are not a massive, faceless company….far from it. We are a group of people that believe in what we do and have a track record in implementing our technology both innovatively and successfully. Yes, we are a business and we do rely on selling Smoke Screen to continue, but we also know that thinking differently about what we do has arguably saved lives in the past and certainly prevented serious injury and loss – this is not just about the bottom line for us.
We don’t think that what we do has all the answers even if some of the ways it has been presented might suggest so. We do think that with proper examination and some thorough thought, there may be a place for it. Believe it or not, we share some of the reservations mentioned here. That said, if there was a way to make it work and as a result it had the potential to save even one life, then not trying would be the worst thing we could do in our opinion.
We want to address as many of the points that have been raised here as possible and we hope to do that by issuing an update very shortly. At this moment, we are just going to say thank you to Popsci for highlighting some of our thoughts and you for providing yours – it’s been very interesting.

bombastinator,
My comment at the top, spoke about keeping weapons away from the mentally disturb, so your assessment of saying no one cares is closed minded on your part.
Now you go sit on something sharp, lol.

If teachers get guns, a kid will end up dead. My math teacher previously worked at a high school where he was assaulted 3 times and another teacher was mugged by some students. If he had a gun, things might have gone badly.

uhmmm.... I don't know if it occurred to anyone, but this works in bank vaults because there are no windows. As soon as the shooter thought to break a window or two (gee, think that might happen if he's spraying the room with an AK?) this thing turns into wasted money and false security.

Tazers are a better idea, really.

Or we could grow up, stop thinking hysterically, and keep in perspective that 20 children an hour die in this country from a plethora of causes related to poverty, poor health care, and child abuse. Nothing will stop the disgruntled and disenfranchised from acting out, except to stop creating them.

Concept Smoke: I know I'm not going to benefit from any of these ideas (as usual, someone else will get rich), but here are some for consideration.

Nonlethal drugs added to your smokescreen. I ALWAYS get pissed when the police shoot the suspect. The Russians have used this before. The toddlers get an extended nap.

A deployable sticky-web cannon *bank* (cans in a grid mounted on a frame) at the end of each hall and at proper intervals. Deployable means mounted on a signal-activated swing-away mount in the ceiling. The webs can be packed into each can on top of each other, so multiple shots can be accomplished. The grid is to ensure that there are no holes in the shot pattern.

Seeing through the fog: a narrow red beam of high intensity will show a reflection if close enough. This should give a marksman sufficient aim-point to deliver whatever ammunition has been chosen.