Seattle Public Schools greenlights weapons detectors under pilot program; some say SROs are needed 

A pilot program will bring weapons detectors to two Seattle Public Schools before the end of the year, as the community continues to grapple with recent area school shootings.

“The two schools that asked for the pilot, they’re gonna kinda build around what they think success looks like,” said district Superintendent Ben Shuldiner, as reported by KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio. “But it is again our hope in the next couple months to really get it up and running.”

Both Nathan Hale High School and Rainier Beach High School plan to begin the program in December and continue it throughout the current academic year, according to Sinclair’s KOMO News.

The district’s board unanimously approved the pilot program at its Oct. 7 meeting.

The meeting did not provide details on the program’s overall cost. Each weapons detector costs $23,427 and is designed to be a more streamlined version of traditional metal detectors, the manufacturer told KIRO 7 News.

“The general idea of the machine is to detect firearms and large knives,” said Aaron Blevins, CEIA USA national sales manager.

“If (students) carry Chromebooks, we’re going to need those to come out and be handed around the machine. But if they have those out and they have their backpacks on, they should be able to get into a relatively smooth process within a couple of days.”

Both high schools already use the company’s OPENGATE portable walk-through systems for football games, graduations and other events.

After the pilot program ends, feedback will determine whether the detectors will be installed at other campuses, Shuldiner told the board, emphasizing that they won’t be added “unless the schools really want it.”

Increasing gun violence at schools

Several parents and students spoke in favor of the weapons detectors following recent school shootings.

Seventeen-year-old student Ebenezer Haile was killed in a shooting at Ingraham High School in November 2022. Another 17-year-old, Amarr Murphy-Paine, was fatally shot outside Garfield High School during lunchtime in June 2024.

In January 2026, two teenage boys died in a shooting near a Rainier Beach High School bus stop.

“I understand metal detectors will not solve every problem, but if they can prevent a weapon from entering the school, they deserve serious consideration as part of a broader safety plan,” said Lonnisha Landry, whose son, Xavier, was killed at 16. She testified before the school board in September.

Meanwhile, other community members criticized the district’s decision to remove police officers from campuses after George Floyd’s death.

“I hope it is addressed and talked about how we can get school resource officers back into schools, because that decision to remove them was just not a good one,” said KIRO host Gee Scott on “The Gee and Ursula Show.”

Weapons detectors have also drawn criticism over their effectiveness. An AI system at Kenwood High School in Maryland flagged a bag of chips as a potential weapon.

The 16-year-old student, Taki Allen, was handcuffed after eating from a bag of Doritos following football practice.

“It was two hands and one finger out, and they said it looked like a gun,” Allen told journalists at the time.

Kate Smith, principal of Allen’s school, wrote a letter to parents reassuring them that counselors were available to “provide direct support to the students who were involved in this incident.”

“We understand how upsetting this was for the individual who was searched,” she said, “as well as the other students who witnessed the incident.”