Incident Report: West Baton Rouge High School

Port Allen, LA | September 1, 2023
A Friday night football game was cut short at 8:30 pm when gunfire erupted near the stands during halftime at Port Allen High School. A 16-year-old student was killed and an adult bystander was wounded. The sounds of gunshots caused panic across the crowd as spectators immediately started running from the stadium.
Those remaining cleared the area as a medical helicopter landed on the field to transport the victims and school officials decided to cancel the remainder of the game. The teenage perpetrator slipped into the chaos and escaped. It took four days to find him.
This is one of six shootings at Baton Rouge schools recorded in the K-12 School Shooting Database. There have been at least 72 shootings
at schools in Louisiana since 1966, including a “mass shooting” with four victims at West St. John Elementary School in 2019.
“Although we had extra security at this game, it ended in a tragic incident. At this time, we ask for prayers for all involved. We will have crisis teams ready to talk with and assist our students at our high schools when classes resume Tuesday morning.”
—Statement from the West Baton Rouge School Board
In large crowds such as football stadiums, ZeroEyes visual AI gun detection software looks for guns that are visible on existing security cameras. At high school stadiums, cameras are often mounted at the entrances and exits, concession stands, ticket offices, press booths, and other areas around the field.
If a gun is brandished or fired in the stadium, an image of the weapon and the location of the detection can be sent to police in as fast as 3-5 seconds. If the shooter is visible in the image, police can also receive a description of the suspect.
This information can help police respond faster and provide critical situational awareness, including the last known location of the weapon, if there was an isolated shooting versus an active shooter firing at multiple victims, and the type of weapon being used.
This effective and informed response process can help save time and save lives.
Each stage of a mass shooting or active shooter incident has its own set of risks and vulnerabilities, therefore requiring different types of solutions.
Some of the most common solutions that leaders look to for active shooter prevention include metal detectors, door locks, or barricades. These measures can be helpful, but it’s critical to understand that they do not address all five stages of a mass shooting. In fact, most security measures, like the examples aforementioned, only address the Active Stage of a mass shooting—and in some cases, could even potentially put the people they are trying to protect at greater risk.
Read more about the five stages of a mass shooting here.
ZeroEyes delivers a proactive, human-verified, visual gun detection and situational awareness solution that integrates into existing digital security cameras.
Providing situational awareness can reduce response times… ultimately saving lives.