VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Volusia County has put the ZeroEyes AI gun detection system into its public schools to try to help protect students and staff from gun-related violence, the district announced Thursday.

What You Need To Know

  • Volusia County Public Schools has implemented the ZeroEyes AI gun detection program

  • ZeroEyes works in conjunction with the district's existing security cameras

  • The district also has safe school officers at each school and Centegix badges for emergency alerts

  • Superintendent Dr. Carmen Balgobin says the district wants to ensure students focus on learning, not safety concerns

"Our goal is to be a trailblazer for school safety in Florida," Volusia County Schools Superintendent Dr. Carmen Balgobin said in a press release. "After seeing the Daytona Beach Police Department’s success with ZeroEyes, we conducted a thorough evaluation of the technology. We began piloting it in a few of our schools and quickly recognized the critical value it provides. We want our students to focus on learning, building friendships, and preparing for their futures, rather than worrying about their safety."

ZeroEyes is layered into the district's existing digital security cameras and is just one of the safety systems that Volusia County Public Schools uses. The county also has safe school officers at each school, single-point entry at all facilities, rapid communications protocols and Centegix badges for emergency alerts.

If a gun is identified, images are sent to the 24-hour-a-day ZeroEyes Operation Center, which is staffed by military and law enforcement veterans. If the experts determine the threat is valid, alerts and details are relayed to first responders and school staff as soon as 3 to 5 seconds from detection, the school system said.

Volusia County has more than 60,000 students and 8,000 employees throughout its more than 70 schools.

According to the ZeroEyes Gun Violence Research Center, 40.4% of analyzed gun-related incidents in Florida occurred in kindergarten-to-12th-grade campuses, including the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., that resulted in 17 deaths and 17 injuries at the school in February 2018.

Seminole County Schools deployed ZeroEyes in 2021 to help protect its students and employees, and Brevard Public Schools heard a presentation from ZeroEyes at the end of 2024. In January, Daytona Beach City commissioners approved the purchase of the software for implementation in the Seabreeze Entertainment District.