HOUSTON – Chrissie Coon is a former law enforcement officer and now heads the company Mutualink.
Mutualink is a cloud-based system that with the push of a button can connect first responders to school officials and teachers and give real-time pictures, video, and floor plans during emergency situations.
“It’s critical in the seconds that it takes to respond to situations like this to have that information at hand. They’re still able to use the tools they have trained with for decades, as then school officials are able to turn their cell phones into push-to-talk devices like a walkie-talkie,” said Chrissie Coon, Chief Strategy Officer at Mutualink.
The Mutualink app is now used at Santa Fe High School, in 30 counties in Florida and has expanded to Arizona.
“That is why I left law enforcement and came to this company because I believe this technology will save lives,” said Coon.
Billy Gibbons is the owner of Armor Upfitters in Brookshire. They make bulletproof pieces of art that can be put in schools, hospitals, churches and workplaces in case of an active shooter situation.
“If you can buy a couple of seconds, you can save a lot of lives,” said Gibbons.
He said an active shooter could be caught off guard by these types of armor and give teachers and students a fighting chance.
“I wanted to make something to be very, very protective and very effective to not disturb my home or my children’s learning experience. I don’t want a school to look like a prison,” said Gibbons. “We’re going to try our best to give everyone the product to make the products that will hopefully save lives.”
Mutualink said their technology works with the facility’s camera and radio system they already have in place.
Armor Upfitters is already in talks with HISD, Katy ISD and Houston police to have some of their armor for safety.
This comes as Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is calling for millions to be invested in school safety measures.