What This Story Is About
- Coffee County Central High School has installed a new weapons detection system from OPENGATE, marking the first time the district has used the technology in one of its buildings.
Why It Matters
- Parent Brittany Smith said the system adds another layer of protection for students and eases concerns about weapons on campus.
What Happens Next
- The district said it hopes to bring the system to more schools, though there is no current plan to do so.
For Context
- The OPENGATE system uses two pillars that students walk through and differs from the Evolv system used by Metro Schools and major Nashville sports teams, though both aim to detect weapons.
Catch Up
- The school district created room in its budget to fund the new technology, which uses electromagnetic fields and signal processing to flag concealed weapons in pockets, bags and school supplies.
COFFEE COUNTY, Tenn. (WSMV) – Coffee County Schools has installed a weapons detection system at Coffee County Central High School for the first time.
The system, known as OPENGATE, consists of two pillars that flag any potential weapons on students or in backpacks. The technology is already in use in Manchester City Schools at Westwood Middle Schools.
The technology is also used in Rutherford County Schools.
Brittany Smith said her son has never faced a dangerous situation at the school, but hearing about a weapon found on campus concerns her.
“Of course, you hear about it on the news and then… or you hear about it after the fact. And of course, as a parent, your heart just drops because it happens all the time. It could be our kid,” Smith said.
When her son told her the school would get a new layer of security starting Tuesday, she paid attention.
“He was a little anxious, just more so trying to figure out how they were going to get all the kids in the building ready for school,” Smith said.
“I love it. I think it’s a great idea. I mean, it’s just another step in keeping our kids safe,” Smith said.
New system details
According to CEIA, the OPENGATE system is a wire-free, active walk-through detection system. The technology uses electromagnetic fields and signal processing to detect larger mass-casualty threat items like weapons and improvised explosive devices.
The technology is mobile, meaning if they wanted to, leaders could move the pillars to other portions of the building to handle weapons detection.
The district says they funded the system through their general budget.
Smith said the system does not just protect students — it also helps school resource officers focus on stopping real threats.
“It’s keeping them safe. So, one less thing they have to battle,” Smith said.
The district said it hopes to bring the system to more schools, but there is no current plan to do so.
The system uses electromagnetic fields and signal processing to flag concealed weapons in pockets, bags and inside school supplies. To speed the process, students were told to pull extra metal — including Chromebooks and three-ring binders — out of their bags before entering.
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