Alabama elementary school goes viral for testing $60,000 bulletproof ‘safe rooms’

In case you needed a reminder that we are living in the opposite of a normal, well-functioning society, an Alabama school is going viral for testing out a new “safe room” in case of a mass shooting event. The video making the rounds online shows a teacher taking a bulletproof whiteboard and turning it into a safe room in a matter of seconds.

Even more depressing than the fact that our children need things like this to keep them safe in a country that has repeatedly failed them is that these sensory-deprivation panic rooms can be deployed by a single child as young as four years old.

The video was shared by TikTok user @jesspipermo earlier this week and already has nearly 15 million views.

“This video is from Cullman, Alabama. We are in a very bad place, friends. We ban books but we need these rooms for our students to be safe from violence,” she captioned the video.

The system was invented by Cullman, Alabama resident Kevin Thomas in the aftermath of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. 

The “Rapid-Deploy Safe Room System,” now sold by KT Security Solutions for around $60,000, is a “functional whiteboard that can be customized to fit any classroom and expands into a fold-out room in under 10 seconds to serve as a protective shield, storm shelter, or additional meeting space inside the classroom,” according to an information sheet shared on Twitter.

According to the information sheet, the device “provides ballistic shield for an entire classroom of students and staff” and can stop .308 caliber ammunition.

Cullman City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kalhoff said the system “can make a difference between life or death in the unimaginable school shooter situation.”

Related: Congress passes bipartisan gun control legislation

“We can’t afford not to do anything. We’ve been having conversations for too long and someone has come up with a solution to solve the problem,” said state Rep. Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) at the official unveiling Monday. “I serve on the Budget Committee and so for me, this is something that’s needed and it’s something that I’m certainly on board with.”

School safety expert Kenneth Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, says schools should be focused on school safety measures beyond technological advancements.

“Quick fixes and lots of gadgets and products often leads to security theater where products and hardware provide an emotional security blanket to make people feel safer, but that may not necessarily actually make them safer,” Trump tells AL.com.

Related: This mom banned her in-laws from babysitting because of gun safety

“Active shooters are only of many school safety threats and school leaders need to spend as much time, if not more, on prevention and planning for more likely security threats such as non-custodial parent issues at elementary schools or fighting and issues that require heightened adult supervision to prevent incidents.”

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