Houston security company claims system can detect active shooters in schools

SPLENDORA, Texas – With the start of school just around the corner, one Houston security company believes it has a solution to keep students safe.

They have an integrated security system that will detect gunfire inside a school building, The company says it is so accurate, representatives and law enforcement tested it out to demonstrate for other first responders.

"It's a generation under fire ... We're living in a different world today," said ASAP Security Services CEO Mike Monsive.

ASAP, which is based in Houston, started with Monsive working out of his truck. More than a decade later, Monsive has turned his company into one of the largest security services companies in the Houston area.

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"Active shootings are a real threat, and we need to be prepared," Monsive said. "There are so many schools that have security cameras, access control, fire alarm systems, but there all separate systems, and there's no simple thing that actually integrates them. This is what this system does ... the lockdown of access control, the sharing of video, so first responders know what they're coming into."

The the programmable system integrates EAGL Technology, which detects gunfire, along with other systems that can alert and message individuals.

"The way this technology works is it uses multiple factor authentication. It is detecting energy as well as sound," Monsive said.

Carefully working with first responders at Spendora High School, live rounds were fired in the hallway at a shooting pad to test the system.

"System will automatically lock doors, it will send a clip of video from the nearest camera, get GPS coordinates where the shots were fired -- send email and text messages," Monsive said.

The system did just that. First responders watched as the camera showed a clip of the shooter, and then showed where the shots were located within the high school. Phones rang and text messages were sent.

"You really don't understand the scope of it until you see it -- right down the hallway we have live fire," said Patton Village Police Chief Shannon Sharp, who attended the active shooter training.

After a daylong active shooter training at the school, organized by Splendora ISD Police Chief Rex Evans, this demonstration was the close of the activity.

"It actually does what it says it does," Evans said.

Evans planned an active shooter training course involving multiple agencies and even students that dressed as if they were injured, to help the simulation. Multiple agencies responded.

"The activity showed that many students and teachers could not even identify the sound of gunshots," Monsive said. "That's why this detection system is so relevant."

Evans said both the active shooter response demonstration and the ASAP Security System activity were great ways to have people prepare.

"They're a solid base for first responders to see where they're at, where they can improve, and it's great for the kids to learn what we do," Evans said.

Monsive said that all schools should have integrative systems like this, as they would for fires or other more common emergencies.

"We need standards. We need equipment. We need training. We need drills to be put in place. Ultimately, it may require changing of laws," Monsive said.

For more information about ASAP Security Services, click here.