New technology that authorities in Georgia say helped prevented an even larger tragedy during this week's high school shooting was championed by a mother of one of the Parkland victims who's pushing for it to be implemented nationwide.
Authorities said a panic button on a badge helped alert them quickly to the shooting at Apalachee High School, here two students and two teachers were shot and killed on Wednesday.
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Lori Alhadeff has been pushing for that exact technology to be mandated nationwide after her daughter, Alyssa, was killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
"Anytime I hear of a school shooting it's very triggering to me and my family," told NBC6 after the Georgia shooting. "It's always so difficult and painful to hear that there's another school shooting."
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Since Alyssa was killed in the in 2018 shooting in Parkland, it’s been Alhadeff's goal to keep her daughter’s memory alive, helping to pass "Alyssa’s Law" to mandate panic button technology.
So far seven states including Florida have passed the law. The legislation in Georgia is still currently in progress, but at Alapachee High School a teacher was able to quickly send an alert that there was a shooting, using a button on an ID badge.
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"It definitely helped to save lives because law enforcement was able to get to the shooter faster and take down the shooter," Alhadeff said. "When we get Alyssa’s law passed in every state, we know that not only is Alyssa helping to keep other students safe but we're also remembering and honoring Alyssa with every push of that panic button."
Alhadeff, who is also on the Broward County School Board, said all schools in the district use an app, called "Alyssa’s Alert," which is a panic button that also provides real time alerts. It's similar to the wearable ID used in Georgia.
"You know wearable, you'll have a 100 percent compliance on day one, it's around the teacher's neck, very accessible," Alhadeff said. "The app-based panic button you could put information in there and then you could get information back on the app, for example where the shooter is located, to have that information to more effectively respond."
Alhadeff and her team are working to pass a federal bill called "Alyssa’s Act" that would get all 50 states on board, to mandate the panic alarm system, but they’re currently going state by state as they work to get the federal bill passed.
