A student who survived the shooting at a high school in Nashville, Tennessee, in January 2025, which resulted in the death of two people, filed a lawsuit against the security system manufacturer for failing to detect the gun at the time of the incident. Omnilert, the manufacturer of the artificial intelligence-based weapon detection system in question, is the accused of negligence.

The lawsuit filed in Davidson County court alleges that Omnilert knew or should have known about the operational limitations of the system. The complaint states that factors such as camera placement, lighting, proximity and angle of the gun to the camera prevent the system from working.

System limitations and marketing claims

The Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) administration signed a contract worth over $1 million to be integrated into the district-wide camera network in 2023. However, MNPS spokesman Sean Braisted, who made a statement after the attack, stated that due to the attacker’s position towards the cameras, the system could not detect the weapon and the alarm was not activated.

The alleges marketing promises on the Omnilert company’s website are deceptive. The company’s claims that its product can prevent tragedies such as the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have been criticized on the grounds that it is presented without taking into account the real-world limitations of the system.

According to website records archived just days before the attack, the company did not share information about any vulnerability or detection limitations. Chris Smith, one of the plaintiff’s lawyers, argues that the fact that the system is only effective under certain conditions poses a serious problem in terms of security.

No response from companies

During the trial, Omnilert’s co-founder Ara Bagdasarian refused to answer questions. The other defendant, System Integrations, who installed and resolved the system, also remains silent about the issue.

The use of artificial intelligence-based security solutions in schools has begun to be discussed more with such incidents. This gap between the promises of technology and its actual performance in the field has become an important agenda item in legal circles.

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