Parents' fury as schools install ATTACK drones to take out shooters: 'What if they hurt a kid?'

Published: 22:22, 15 July 2026 | Updated: 22:26, 15 July 2026 A Colorado school is set to unleash attack drones capable of confronting active shooters inside its hallways despite facing a hoard of backlash from parents. John Adams Academy, a new public charter school being built in Douglas County, Colorado, will become the first school in the state to deploy the drones when it opens this August. Developed by Texas firm Campus Guardian Angel, the remotely operated devices can be launched within seconds of an active shooter alert, livestream footage to police and deploy pepper gel in a bid to impede a gunman before officers reach the scene. The drones can also fly at and pummel attackers. The rollout comes after county commissioners considered approving $200,000 to bolster security, but pulled the proposal from the agenda on Tuesday after questions were raised over whether the money should be repurposed to fund a dedicated school resource officer. Despite the financial setback, the academy’s founder said the drone system will still be installed because the school can pay for it independently. School head Sarah Kiesewetter insisted the drones are only one part of a 'multi-tiered approach' designed to speed up emergency responses and provide officers with crucial intelligence. But critics warn the technology is an untested experiment that could create chaos and put innocent children directly in harm’s way. Parents have reacted with alarm after a school in Douglas County announced it will be the first in Colorado to install a drone active shooter suppression system John Adams Academy, a public charter school under construction in Sterling Ranch, Douglas County, plans to install the system before welcoming its first students this August The technology is designed to launch drones within seconds of a confirmed active threat 'What about a drone spewing these pellets and hurting a kid?' concerned parent Jennifer Iversen told CBS Colorado. 'It brings in so many ethical and legal issues that I just think it’s a really bad idea,' she added. The drones would not be flown by officers on the ground or school staff, but by trained operators sitting hundreds of miles away at the company’s command center in Texas. According to Campus Guardian Angel the drones sit in charging stations inside the school and can be airborne in seconds after a verified active shooter alert. They beam live video to first responders while deploying pepper gel and other non-lethal measures designed to distract or disable an attacker before police arrive. The system has never been tested in a real school shooting. The company says its drones are already installed in around 10 schools across the southern United States, but none has experienced an active shooter since the technology was introduced, meaning there is no real-world evidence showing whether it can safely stop an attack. That revelation has only deepened fears for critics, who argue schools should not become proving grounds for experimental security technology.  'The potential for that to go wrong is so high,' said local resident Julie Ort. According to the company the drones can deploy pepper gel and physically strike a suspect to delay or incapacitate them until police arrive The proposal has alarmed parents of children attending the school (pictured) who questioned whether the technology has been sufficiently tested  'The idea that somebody in Austin is going to be the first responder to a school shooting, and doesn’t have the awareness of what happens if we need to call this off… what happens if those drones are actually interfering with our law enforcement?' She added: 'School security is really important, and we shouldn’t be using our kids as test sites.' Daily Mail reached out to John Adams Academy and Campus Guardian Angel for comment.